Biden team says US will not lift travel bans, despite Trump statement

US President-elect Joe Biden’s spokeswoman on Monday quickly dismissed Donald Trump’s announcement that a Covid-19 ban on travellers arriving from much of Europe and Brazil would be lifted, underlining the US’ fractious transition of power. “On the advice of our medical team, the Administration does not intend to lift these restrictions on 1/26,” tweeted Jen Psaki, Biden’s press secretary. “In fact, we plan to strengthen public health measures around international travel in order to further mitigate the spread of Covid-19.”<br/>Biden will be inaugurated on Wednesday. Trump, who is due to leave office, announced minutes earlier that restrictions imposed on people travelling from Europe and Brazil will be lifted from January 26, provided people have a recent negative Covid-19 test result. “This action is the best way to continue protecting Americans from Covid-19 while enabling travel to resume safely,” Trump said released by the White House. Travel bans remain in place for China and Iran. The CDC announced last Tuesday that all air passengers bound for the US are required to test negative for Covid-19 within three days of their departure.<br/>The test policy will also take effect on January 26, and expands on a previous testing rule that targeted Britain and came into effect in December, following the emergence of a coronavirus variant believed to be more transmissible.<br/>