The long standing ban on HIV+ travellers entering the United States was officially lifted yesterday. The 22-year-old ban, which dated back to the widespread fear and ignorance which surrounded the early days of the AIDS epidemic, has kept out thousands of travellers and asylum seekers, and made it impossible to host international AIDS conferences in the States. "The 2012 World Aids Conference, due to be held in the United States, was in jeopardy as a result of the restrictions. It's now likely to go ahead as planned," Rachel Tiven, head of the Immigration Equality campaign, told the BBC. The lifting of the ban means people applying to become residents in the USA no longer need to take mandatory HIV tests. A similar travel ban has also been lifted in South Korea.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News Staff
First published: Wednesday, 6th January 2010 - 12:05pm