United States President Joe Biden has imposed new travel restrictions on India in light of the Covid-19 epidemic, barring most non-US citizens from entering the United States.

The new restrictions, which take effect on Tuesday, May 4 at 12:01am ET, are on the advice of the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and were imposed because “the magnitude and scope of the Covid-19 pandemic” in India was “surging,” the White House said, according to Reuters.

The proclamation said India “accounts for over one-third of new global cases” and added that “proactive measures are required to protect the nation's public health from travellers entering the United States” from India.