The U.S. will limit travel from India beginning May 4, the White House announced April 30.
Foreign nationals who have traveled to India within the last two weeks will be restricted from entering the U.S., CNN reports. The travel restrictions will not apply to American citizens, lawful permanent residents, or others with exemptions.
In keeping with previous requirements, all international travelers must test negative prior to departing the country they're in, quarantine if not vaccinated and test negative upon arrival to the U.S.
"On the advice of the CDC, the Administration will restrict travel from India starting immediately," Jen Psaki, White House press secretary said April 30 in a statement cited by CNN. "The policy will be implemented in light of extraordinarily high COVID-19 caseloads and multiple variants circulating in India."
As of April 30, there's been more than 18 million COVID-19 cases recorded in India and 200,000 deaths. April 30 also marked the 10th consecutive day that India reported more than 300,000 new COVID-19 cases, CNN reports. The country has the second highest number of infections, after the U.S. where more than 32 million cases have been recorded since the start of the pandemic.