New York, May 2 (TIWN) The US is imposing restrictions on travel from India starting on Tuesday, Vice President Kamala Harris has said.

Harris, who was visiting Cincinnati, said, "There is no question that it (COVID surge in India) is a great tragedy, in terms of the loss of life, and as I have said before, and I will say again, we as a country have made a commitment to the people of India to support them."  "And we've made already a commitment in terms of a dollar amount that will go to PPE (personal protective equipment) and a number of other things. But it is tragic. And, you know, my prayers go to the people on the suffering, the blatant suffering that is happening," she added.  President Joe Biden's Spokesperson Jen Psaki said the restrictions were being imposed because "of extraordinarily high COVID-19 caseloads and multiple variants circulating in India." 

The White House and the CDC did not spell out the restrictions.  But travel restrictions issued by Biden on other countries given an idea of how they may impact India.  Non-US citizens except for US legal immigrants will not be allowed into the US if they have been to the countries under the restrictions in the past 14 days.  The restrictions cover South Africa, China, Iran, Brazil, Ireland, Britain and the 29 countries belonging to the common visa zone known as the Schengen Area.  US citizens and legal residents and their immediate family members are exempt from the restrictions, as also are diplomats, but they are advised to follow precautions.