The US will reopen in November to air travellers from 33 countries, including China, India, Brazil and most of Europe, who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19, the White House says, easing tough pandemic-related restrictions that started early last year.

The decision, announced by White House coronavirus response coordinator Jeff Zients, marked an abrupt shift for President Joe Biden's administration, which said last week it was not the right time to lift any restrictions amid rising Covid-19 cases.

The US will admit fully vaccinated air travellers from the 26 so-called Schengen countries in Europe including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and Greece, as well as Britain, Ireland, China, India, South Africa, Iran and Brazil. The unprecedented US restrictions have barred non-US citizens who were in those countries within the past 14 days.

Foreign nationals will need to present proof of vaccination before travel and will not be required to quarantine on arrival.

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