The U.S. State Department has eased travel restrictions for more than 110 countries, including France, Germany, and Canada, as the coronavirus pandemic subsides in many places.
Japan will also be included in relaxed deliberations ahead of the Tokyo Olympics as controversy over where to host the Games grows as the country faces a new wave of Covid-19 cases.
The ministry on Tuesday changed its travel warnings for many countries from level 4 or “don’t travel” to level 3 or “reconsider travel,” it says on its website. He said he was updating the notice after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention changed the travel health advisory system.
The CDC said the new criteria for a Level 4 recommendation had increased from 100 cases of Covid-19 per 100,000 people to 500. Countries affected by recent changes including Mexico, South Korea, and Singapore.
The CDC said it has also revised its rating for the United States from Level 4 to Level 3.
On May 24, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged residents not to travel to Japan due to a new wave of coronavirus cases before the start of the Olympics on July 23. The State Department’s warning was a cause for concern and prompted the White House to reiterate its support for Tokyo’s plan to host the Olympics this summer.
Foreign spectators have been banned from the Games and the organizers are expected to make a decision this month whether to visit Japanese spectators. The notices are not binding but can help airlines and other countries set their own travel restrictions.
The move comes days before President Joe Biden plans to travel to the UK for a Group of Seven meetings and Vice President Kamala Harris visits Mexico.
Airlines and some countries have complained that travel restrictions to the US are not keeping pace with rising vaccination rates and reducing the risk of contracting Covid-19.
“We heard very clearly the desire of our friends in Europe and Great Britain to be able to resume the voyage across the Atlantic, and we want that to happen,” said National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Monday. But we have to follow science and we have to follow the advice of our public health professionals. We actively involve you in setting the schedule.
In the US, new infections are at their lowest level since the pandemic began in March 2020. The number of weekly cases around the world has been falling in the past six weeks as the epidemic in India recedes and global vaccination efforts increase.
Many countries that now have lower ratings remain on the U.S. government’s list of strict travel restrictions, with most being on the list as of early 2020. The US bans almost all non-US citizens who have traveled to China, UK, Ireland, India, South Africa, Brazil, Iran, and all 26 Schengen countries from Europe that do not have border controls in the past 14 days.
CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky explained on Tuesday why the United States maintains warnings for some countries with lower infection rates while exempting others with high rates. Dr. Walensky said the problem is the subject of inter-institutional discussion and we are looking at real-time data on how we should go about it.
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The United States has also started talks with Canada and Mexico to lift or potentially revise restrictions on US land borders that prohibit non-essential travel.
