OPINION: America’s Pandemic Travel Bans No Longer Make Sense -_Foreign Policy

America’s Pandemic Travel Bans No Longer Make Sense A thoughtless, unscientific policy of closed borders—even to vaccinated travelers—does a little more damage every day. Stefan Theil Foreign Policy

Many countries around the world, concerned over the economic and human costs of the lengthy shutdown of international travel during the pandemic, are busy experimenting with how to reopen their borders while protecting their citizens. The United States, in stark contrast, is locked down even more tightly than it was when the Trump administration first put travel restrictions in place at the start of the outbreak. Against all common sense, fully vaccinated travelers from many countries with much lower case rates than the United States remain blocked.

Amid the tribal fights that roil American politics daily, liberals and conservatives seem to have found strange common ground on closed borders. The left fears the virus; the right fears foreigners. The result has been a policy gridlock that is increasingly isolating the United States, especially from its closest allies, while doing nothing to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

Many countries that have endured several COVID-19 waves are nonetheless trying to re-open their borders as conditions permit. European Union member states have for many months regularly updated their lists of restricted countries based on the latest epidemiological data. Most have now opened to foreign travelers, generally requiring proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test before arrival. The EU recently removed the United States from its safe travel list due to the surge of the delta variant, but Germany, France, Spain, and most other EU member states are still permitting travel by fully vaccinated Americans or those recovered from COVID-19 and naturally immune. Only a handful of European countries, such as Norway and Bulgaria, have opted to close to U.S. visitors, while some others allow only limited essential travel. ...

So as the world experiments and converges on a consensus for allowing safe travel, the United States marches on to its own drumbeat. Stewing in its toxic political culture, it remains obsessed with its internal political battles over COVID-19 and everything else, and oblivious as other countries try to find the best path between openness and public safety. The U.S. government continues to default to the easiest political option—a thoughtless policy of closed borders that does a little more human and economic damage every day it remains in place.