The USA will not be easing travel restrictions any time soon, in another blow to the prospects of trans-Atlantic movement this summer. A White House official told Reuters on Monday: “Given where we are today with the Delta variant, the United States will maintain existing travel restrictions at this point.” But there are some exemptions for travelling to the USA from the UK.
Cases are on the rise in the US as the delta variant continues to surge.
Yesterday, the country reported its seven-day average of new infections to be 51,939.
This is up from 12,799 on July 1.
While vaccination rates are currently high in both countries, there have been no recent changes to the travel rules between the UK and the USA.
Can I travel to the US?
Unfortunately, the US has a travel ban in place on the majority of UK residents.
Only July 20, the American Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) placed Britain at the highest travel warning level, meaning Americans should not visit except in an emergency.
There are some exemptions, including permanent US residents and US citizens, specified close family members and diplomats.
In terms of the UK’s own rules, USA is currently on the amber list for travel.
This means quarantine is necessary when you return from the USA unless you have had both rounds of a coronavirus vaccine.
The UK also has no ban on American tourists coming to visit, but the USA is currently advising against all travel to the UK.
Travel across the Atlantic could resume in the autumn when the effects of lifting lockdowns and vaccination levels are better understood.
America’s chief medical advisor Dr Anthony Fauci said in June: “I think once they [the UK] get more and more people vaccinated and get the people who’ve gotten a single dose to make sure they get their second dose, I think the UK is going to be in a very favourable position by the time we get to the end of the summer.”
But various parts of the USA are currently living under different rules, as they have a state-by-state approach to coronavirus containment.
For example, New York, which was originally the epicentre of the virus in the states, has now dropped all face mask rules for vaccinated people and social distancing guidelines have been relaxed.
Other states, where cases of the virus are more prevalent, did not ever go into a full lockdown.
