The Biden administration will lift travel restrictions for visitors from the U.K. and the European Union beginning in November. Biden will require European nationals to be fully vaccinated and receive a negative test 72 hours prior to flying.

Travelers will be required to show proof of vaccination prior to boarding their flights. Enhanced contact tracing and masking will also be required. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention plans to issue a tracing order requiring airlines to collect phone numbers and email addresses from U.S.-bound travelers to alert passengers of potential exposure. Airlines will be required to keep the information on file for 30 days.

"This will enable CDC and state and local public health officials to follow up with inbound travelers and those around them if someone has potentially been exposed to Covid-19 and other pathogens," said White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients.

Unvaccinated American citizens will be required to be tested within a day before returning to the U.S. as well as after they return home. According to Zients, vaccinated passengers will not be required to quarantine.

Zients said the protocols will "protect Americans here at home, and enhance the safety of the international air travel system." Zients added that the new policy is possible because of the rising vaccination rate in other countries.

"Today nearly 6 billion shots have been administered globally and dozens of countries have strong vaccination rates. Vaccines continue to show that they're highly effective, including against the Delta variant," Zients said.

U.S. travel bans were first imposed during the early days of the pandemic by then-President Donald Trump beginning with China in January of 2020 and later he added 26 European countries including France, Germany, Italy, Ireland and the U.K. as well as Brazil, India, and South Africa. Borders to Mexico and Canada were closed, as well.

Biden has maintained the restrictions on non-essential travel despite rising vaccination rates in Europe, citing the rapid spread of the Delta variant. The continued policy has infuriated European governments whose countries’ citizens have been barred entry into the U.S. despite other countries with higher cases not subject to the same rules, according to CNN.

European leaders have grown frustrated with the U.S. over the COVID-related policies saying the restrictions have damaged relations between them and the U.S.

Europe opened its borders to America in June, but last month removed the U.S. from a safe list of countries where citizens would not be required to be tested or quarantined.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted he was "delighted" that Biden is "reinstating transatlantic travel so fully vaccinated UK nationals can visit the USA."

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