The Biden administration will restrict travel from India beginning Tuesday, the White House said Friday, as concerns mount over a record surge in coronavirus cases there.
“On the advice of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the administration will restrict travel from India,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said. “The policy will be implemented in light of extraordinarily high Covid-19 caseloads and multiple variants circulating in India.”
The White House said the ban on travel from India wouldn’t apply to U.S. citizens, permanent residents or their spouses. Other individuals that might qualify for exemptions include humanitarian workers, certain journalists and academics and students commencing studies in the fall, according to a determination by the State Department for travelers deemed to be in U.S. national interests. The exceptions mirror those for other countries affected by pandemic-related travel restrictions.
A spokesman for the Indian Embassy had no immediate comment.
The announcement comes as India set a global record for new infection prompting several countries to impose similar restrictions.The UK, Canada, Germany, France and Australia were among the growing list of countries to ban most travelers from india.
