ASSOCIATED PRESSKey FactsThe travel restrictions will lift on December 31, White House Assistant Press Secretary Kevin Munoz tweeted Friday. That’s the percentage of new Covid-19 cases in the U.S. last week that were linked to the omicron variant, according to the CDC, up from 3% the week before. TangentIn addition to the travel restrictions, the White House also changed its international travel protocols in December to require all inbound international visitors to the U.S. to have a negative Covid-19 test result within 24 hours of their flight. Key BackgroundThe U.S. was one of a slew of countries to quickly impose travel restrictions after the omicron variant was first detected in southern Africa in late November, even as dozens of nations soon identified their own cases of the new strain. Further ReadingExclusive: U.S. to lift travel curbs on eight African countries (Reuters)Biden Limits Travel From Southern African Countries Amid Fears Of New 'Omicron' Coronavirus Variant (Forbes)Biden To Provide 500 Million At-Home Tests, Ramp Up Covid Response Amid Omicron Surge (Forbes)Biden administration official explains decision to lift travel restrictions on 8 African countries (CNN)Full coverage and live updates on the Coronavirus

Source: Forbes December 24, 2021 15:38 UTC