At least 20 countries, including Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Saudi Arabia, have been placed in Category A, under which COVID tests are not required for passengers
The new restrictions will be effective from March 23 to April 5, 2021
Since December 2017, after a revised version of the original travel ban was upheld by the US Supreme Court, some 40,000 people have been barred from entering the United States under the ban, according to State Department data.
The group of countries is comprised of Portugal's former African colonies of Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, and Sao Tome and Principe.
African nations are struggling to obtain vaccines for their combined 1.3 billion people, and only some of the continent's nations have begun administering doses.
World Bank Group President David Malpass said the investment would help improve livelihoods as those countries recovered from the outbreak and dealt with the impact of biodiversity loss and climate change through 2025.