Joe Biden restricts travel from India to US due to Covid-19 outbreak: White House

The United States will restrict travel from India starting next week, due to rampant spread of Covid-19 in the country, the White House said Friday.

"On the advice of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the administration will restrict travel from India," Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement.

She cited "extraordinarily high Covid-19 caseloads and multiple variants circulating in India" and said the policy

The policy will take effect May 4.

The new restrictions are on the advice of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and are imposed "in light of extraordinarily high COVID-19 case loads and multiple variants circulating in India," the official said.

Biden in January issued a similar ban on most non-U.S. citizens entering the country who have recently been in South Africa. He also reimposed an entry ban on nearly all non-U.S. travelers who have been in Brazil, the United Kingdom, Ireland and 26 countries in Europe that allow travel across open borders.

The policy means most non-U.S. citizens who have been in one of those countries - and now India - within the last 14 days are not eligible to travel to the United States. China and Iran are also both covered by the policy.

Second only to the United States in total infections, India has reported more than 300,000 new cases daily for nine days in a row, hitting another global record of 386,452 on Friday.