Buttigieg: Authorities consider COVID-19 testing requirement negative on domestic flights

Transport secretary Pete ButtigiegPete ButtigiegSunday Shows – Trump Impeachment Trial, Stimulus Dominates Buttigieg Says “Time Is Running Out” On Stimulus Bill Sunday Shows Sneak Peek: Budget Resolution Paves Way For 0.9 Trillion Stimulus; Senate gears up for impeachment trial READ MORE said officials were considering requiring passengers to provide a negative COVID-19 test before domestic flights, according to an interview published on Sunday.

One of President BidenJoe Biden Democrats say Trump’s impeachment defense is ‘completely without merit’ US-Israel defense treaty has advantages – and dangers White House: Biden won’t spend much time watching impeachment trial by Trump PLUSFirst Confirmed Cabinet Members Told “Axios on HBO” that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is engaged in “an active conversation” about whether to implement the requirement.

“What I can tell you is that it’s going to be driven by data, by science, by medicine and by input from the people who are actually going to have to do this,” he said. “But here’s the thing: the more secure we can make air travel in terms of perception and reality, the more people will be willing to get back in the air.”

Buttigieg’s comments on potential testing madness come after the CDC instituted a requirement for travelers on international flights to the United States to test negative for the virus that has infected more than 27 million people and killed more of 464,000 in the United States alone, according to Johns Hopkins University Data.

The testing rules for international flights came as US officials expressed concern that COVID-19 variants found in the UK and South Africa are more contagious than the original strain. Both variants have been found in several states in the United States, with 690 cases of the British strain in 33 states and six cases of the South African strain in three states, according to data from the CDC..

Monday, CDC director Rochelle WalenskyRochelle WalenskyCDC could set requirements to reopen schools this week, Biden says governor of Maine warns Super Bowl parties as Republicans seek to hit Democrats when schools reopen MORE responded to a question about testing at airports saying that more testing could help reduce the spread, especially in infected people who are not showing symptoms.

The Department of Transportation announced Monday that Buttigieg plans to quarantine after a member of his security service tested positive for COVID-19 after being with the secretary earlier in the morning. Buttigieg has since tested negative and has yet to show any symptoms.