The US on Monday announced a new international travel system under which fully vaccinated individuals would be allowed to enter the country beginning in November.

This essentially also lifts the travel ban on countries like India that the US had earlier enforced. Former president Donald Trump had imposed a blanket ban on foreign travellers from entering the US at the start of the coronavirus pandemic in early 2020.

Vaccinated people from countries like India can now travel to the US with proof of their vaccination before they start flying for the United States, White House officials said. “Today we're announcing a new international air travel system. This new system includes strict protocols to prevent the spread of Covid-19 from passengers flying into the United States, protecting Americans and making international air travel safer,” White House Covid-19 Response Coordinator Jeff Zients told reporters during a virtual news conference.

The United States, he said, with science and public health as its guide, has developed a new international air travel system that both enhances the safety of Americans here at home and enhances the safety of international air travel.

“Most importantly, beginning in early November, foreign nationals flying to the United States will be required to be fully vaccinated and they must show proof of vaccination prior to boarding a US bound airplane,” he said.

Responding to a question on the existing quarantine requirements and travel ban from countries like India, Brazil, United Kingdom, China, Iran and South Africa, Zients said early November the United States will move to this new and much stricter global system. “It will require for nationals to be vaccinated, to prove they're vaccinated, and then to go to the testing and contract tracing regimens,” he said.

“That's right, for (fully) vaccinated travellers it is not required to be a quarantine going forward,” he said in response to another question.

Nearly six billion Covid-19 vaccines have already been administered globally, he said, adding that the US is leading the effort to get even more shots and arms across the world.          

 “We know vaccines are affected, including against the Delta variant and vaccines are the best line of defense against COVID.”