U.S. lifts pandemic travel ban for countries including Canada, Mexico, most of Europe

The U.S. lifted pandemic restrictions Monday on travel from a list of countries including Mexico, Canada, and most of Europe, allowing tourists to travel freely, and long-separated family members to reunite.

The U.S. will now accept fully vaccinated travelers at airports and land borders, eliminating a COVID-19 restriction that was put in place during the Trump administration. The new parameters will also allow air travel from formerly restricted countries so long as the traveler has both proof of vaccination and a negative COVID test – no test will be required for land travelers from Canada and Mexico.

The shift in rules is expected to be a boon for the airline industry, which is expecting a heavily increased number of travelers from Europe and other parts of the world. Airlines will be required to verify vaccine records and match them against travelers' ID. If they fail to do so, they risk incurring a fine of nearly $35,000 per violation. 

Since the banning of non-essential travel between the U.S. borders with Mexico and Canada, a number of border-town businesses have been decimated on the southern border, where consumers would frequently arrive from Mexico. On the northern border, churches with members on both sides of the divide will see parishioners who have not been to worship since the onset of the pandemic, and cross-country hockey rivalries will start up again.

The U.S. pandemic outlook has steadily improved over the last weeks, following surges of the Delta variant over the summer that prompted many state and local governments to reinstate some restrictions. However, Germany is reporting record virus-infection numbers.