U.S. Assesses Reopening Travel with Brazil and Europe Despite Surge in Covid-19 Cases

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The White House has held multiple discussions on reopening travel to the U.S. from the U.K. and other European countries and Brazil, notwithstanding a surge in coronavirus cases, according to people familiar with the matter.

Aides – including officials from the National Security Council, National Economic Council and coronavirus task force – have been weighing the limited reopening while keeping in place restrictions on travel from China and Iran, said the people, who discussed the deliberations on condition of anonymity.

No formal recommendations have been made to President Donald Trump, according to the people, as virus cases spike in the U.K. and other parts of Europe. If the plan is approved, it would reverse travel limits Trump imposed earlier this year as the virus slammed Europe and Asia.

The numbers of cases and deaths by coronavirus are breaking records in the US. More than 15 million people have been infected and some 289,000 have died in the country, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The number of daily deaths by Covid-19 in the U.S. exceeded 3,000 for the first time on Wednesday, December 9th.

In Europe, many countries face similarly high death rates, which has forced governments to reinstitute public health measures to contain the spread.

Travel restrictions are unlikely to be relaxed on China and Iran, both of which have contentious relationships with Trump.

This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error