Not only is President Biden extending former President Trump’s travel bans, but according to Reuters he’s also adding another country to the ban list.
This is in addition to requiring pre-travel coronavirus testing for all US-bound passengers, and the eventual introduction of a quarantine requirement for those arriving in the US (the exact details of this remain to be seen).
Biden plans to introduce a new South Africa travel ban as of January 30, 2021. This would work similarly to other travel bans we’ve seen, meaning that:
Americans would still be allowed to travel to South Africa
With this ban, non-Americans who have been in South Africa in the past 14 days wouldn’t be permitted to enter the United States
Some exceptions would apply, like certain essential travelers, family members of Americans, etc.
Presumably South Africa is being singled out here because the country has a new coronavirus variant that poses even more of a risk.
While I can in theory see the logic of this ban, the problem is that this ban does nothing to discourage or prevent Americans from visiting South Africa. It simply prevents others who had been in South Africa from entering the US. Last I checked, coronavirus doesn’t discriminate based on what country your passport is from. I get that this is probably better than nothing, and that the US can’t really deny Americans entry into “their” country, but…

I think the travel ban should be aimed at both parties. Only unilateral restrictions are inevitably a bit unfair.

Whatever rocks their boat