Starting in November the USA will lift pandemic restrictions that have been in place for 18 months restricting travel from 33 countries, including members of the European Union, China, Iran, South Africa, Brazil and India. Foreign travelers will need to show proof of vaccination before boarding and a negative coronavirus test within three days of coming to the United States.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will also soon issue an order directing airlines to collect phone numbers and email addresses of travelers for a new contact-tracing system. Authorities will then follow up with the travelers after arrival to ask whether they are experiencing symptoms of the virus.
But along with opening up travel for some, the new rules shut it down for others. Unvaccinated people will soon be broadly banned from visiting the United States even if they are coming from countries such as Japan that have not faced restrictions on travel to America during the pandemic.