Holidaymakers hoping to make the trip across the Atlantic from Ireland to the United States this summer may have to put away the suitcases for another while longer.
Ireland is among the nations from where travel to America is currently restricted under rules introduced at the start of the pandemic.
A travel ban on certain countries introduced in March 2020 is still in place, with no date indicated as to when this might be lifted.
It had been anticipated that US President Joe Biden might welcome back tourists from his ancestral nation by July 4, but the ongoing hiatus on travel from Ireland looks set to continue following the latest comments.
According to a White House official, the Biden administration will not immediately lift any international travel restrictions.
"There are further discussions to be had before we can announce any next steps on travel reopening with any country," they said on Thursday.
"We have made tremendous progress domestically in our vaccination efforts, as have many of these other countries, but we want to ensure that we move deliberately and are in a position to sustainably reopen international travel when it is safe to do so."
The regions still under these restrictions include Ireland, the UK, the European Schengen area, China, India, Iran, Brazil and South Africa.
It means that people who have been in these countries two weeks prior to travelling will not be allowed to land on US soil.
At the moment, only citizens and lawful permanent residents of the US, certain family members, and other people who meet specified exceptions are allowed to enter the States.
A working group between the US and the EU has been holding talks over the past month with the aim of resuming travel between the continents, with many Irish people keenly awaiting news on when this might happen.
In a statement to the Irish Mirror, a spokesperson for the European Commission said the EU are in close contact with the US administration, from whom they have received reassurances that this is "a high priority issue".
Both sides are working to resume travel to the US from Europe "as soon as possible" with "expert-level discussions" taking places that are "open, frank, and based in science".
The EU-US working group has met twice, most recently last Friday, with talks still ongoing to allow Irish people and other restricted nations to visit America.
American tourists are already being welcomed back to the likes of Italy, Spain and France after the European Council added the US to the list of Covid-19 safe countries on June 18.
This means that people can come from the US for holidays in the EU, regardless of their vaccination status, when the opposite scenario, even for fully vaccinated Europeans, is not allowed.
"Our assessment is that there is a strong case for the US reciprocating fully," the Commission spokesperson said.
"This is based on the vaccination uptake, and more generally, the improving epidemiological situation in the EU. We are also putting in place robust infrastructure to facilitate safe travel thanks to the EU Digital Covid Certificate.
"We are particularly attentive to the situation of EU citizens legally resident in the US who have not been able to come back to the EU for the past 18 months as they have had no assurance that they could then return back to the US."
Ireland is set to adopt the Digital Green Certificate for international travel next Monday, meaning Irish citizens go abroad to sunnier climes at last across the Member States.
Despite having this travel pass, which shows whether someone is vaccinated against Covid-19, has recently recovered or has a negative test, it cannot be used to go to the like of New York City or Los Angeles as the travel ban is still in place.
The certs will be issued to around 1.9 million people who have been fully vaccinated across Ireland this week, but it looks like the bright lights of Times Square will have to have to be substituted with the street lamps of a European boulevard for the time being.
