US to finally reopen land, air borders after 20 months

The United States reopens its land and air borders on Monday to foreign visitors fully vaccinated against Covid-19, ending 20 months of restrictions on travel from around the globe that separated families, hobbled tourism and strained diplomatic ties.

The ban, imposed by former president Donald Trump in early 2020 and upheld by his successor Joe Biden, has been widely criticised and become emblematic of the upheavals caused by the pandemic.

The restrictions were particularly unpopular in Europe and US neighbours Canada and Mexico.

Meanwhile, a US federal appeals court on Saturday halted a vaccine mandate by President Joe Biden’s administration that is intended to push millions of workers at businesses with more than 100 employees into getting Covid-19 shots.

The New Orleans-based US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit said that because petitioners “give cause to believe there are grave statutory and constitutional issues with the mandate, the mandate is hereby stayed pending further action by this court”. The traditionally conservative court ordered the government to reply to the motion for a permanent injunction by 5pm on Monday.