Biden will also extend the restrictions to travelers who have recently been to South Africa, the official said.
The step, which was first reported by Reuters, comes just one week after President Donald Trump signed an executive order lifting the restrictions on travelers from these countries effective January 26. The Biden transition team vowed at the time that the new administration would not lift the restrictions.
“With the pandemic worsening, and more contagious variants emerging around the world, this is not the time to be lifting restrictions on international travel,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Twitter.
“On the advice of our medical team, the Administration does not intend to lift these restrictions on 1/26. In fact, we plan to strengthen public health measures around international travel in order to further mitigate the spread of COVID-19.”
This is a breaking story and will be updated.