International members of SCI will soon be able to travel to hunt in the United States and attend the SCI Convention next January thanks to new regulations announced by the Biden Administration. On Monday, September 20, 2021, White House coronavirus response coordinator Jeff Zients announced that the US would allow the entry of fully vaccinated foreign travelers beginning in early November. He said the new travel regulations would include travelers from South Africa, all 26 countries from the Schengen region of Europe, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Brazil, India, China and Iran. Travelers from these destinations have been barred entry to the US since early 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Details are still being worked out, but fully vaccinated international visitors will be allowed to enter the US without quarantine. Travelers will need to provide proof of vaccination before boarding a flight to the US and will also need to provide a negative test result issued no later than 72 hours prior to flying. There will also be enhanced contact tracing of some form, and masks will be required.
Zients said that rising rates of vaccinations around the world have made the new policy possible. In the coming weeks the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will determine which vaccinations it will accept for the exemption.
Additionally, US travelers should expect changes affecting them when traveling outside the US. All unvaccinated Americans going abroad will now be required to get a negative test within one day of departing for home (versus the three days from travel currently required) and show proof of having purchased a viral test that they must take upon arrival in the US.
Despite the relaxed policy for air travel, Zients said the land border with Canada and Mexico remains closed to nonessential travel. But with the development of the new air travel requirements, there is hope that similar requirements will soon be applied to land crossings as well.
Watch for details in the coming weeks on which vaccinations will be accepted and how the new requirements will be applied.
