Speaking to reporters at the White House Thursday afternoon, Press Secretary Jen Psaki was grilled over President Joe Biden’s continued travel ban on a number of African countries.
Biden’s travel ban was issued two weeks ago when news broke from South Africa a new variant of Wuhan coronavirus had been discovered.
“I’ve decided that we’re going to be cautious, make sure there is no travel to and from South Africa and six other countries in that region and, except for American citizens who are able to come back,” Biden told reporters. “I spent about a half hour this morning with my COVID team, led by Dr. Fauci. And so that was the decision we made.”
Since the ban was implemented, the variant has been detected in a number of states across the country and in Europe. Further, the South African doctor who announced the new variant to the world has been warning governments not to panic and reports cases of the disease have been mild.