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New Delhi residents report hours-long lines for oxygen
Residents of Delhi, India, lined up to get oxygen tanks refilled on April 30, as cases of COVID-19 soared across the country.
WASHINGTON - The U.S. will restrict travel from India starting on May 4, the White House said Friday, citing a devastating rise in COVID-19 cases in the country and the emergence of potentially dangerous variants of the coronavirus.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said President Joe Biden's administration made the determination on the advice of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"The policy will be implemented in light of extraordinarily high COVID-19 caseloads and multiple variants circulating in India," she said.
With 386,452 new cases, India now has reported more than 18.7 million since the pandemic began, second only to the United States. The Health Ministry on Friday also reported 3,498 deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing the total to 208,330. Experts believe both figures are an undercount, but it’s unclear by how much.
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Ambulances wait in line outside crematorium in South India amid COVID-19 surge
A long line of ambulances waited outside a crematorium in Bengaluru, India, on April 29, as COVID deaths in the country mounted. Credit - Zameer Baig via Storyful
The U.S. action comes days after Biden spoke with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the growing health crisis in his country and pledged to immediately send assistance. The U.S. has already moved to send therapeutics, rapid virus test and oxygen to India, along with some materials needed for that country to boost its domestic production of COVID-19 vaccines.
Additionally, a CDC team of public health experts was expected to soon be on the ground in India to help health officials there move to slow the spread of the virus.
Women mourn the death of a family member, who died due to COVID-19, at a crematorium in New Delhi on April 30, 2021. (Photo by Mayank Makhija/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The White House waited on the CDC recommendation before moving to restrict travel, noting that the U.S. already requires negative tests and quarantines for all international travelers. Other restrictions are in place on travel from China, Iran, the European Union, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, Brazil and South Africa, which are or have been hotspots for the coronavirus.