United States requires negative COVID-19 tests for arriving international air passengers

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Almost all air travelers will need to test negative for the coronavirus to enter the United States under the expanded testing requirements announced on Tuesday.

Under the rules, which take effect Jan. 26, almost all travelers, including U.S. citizens, must test negative within three days of departure or have COVID-19 recovery documentation, under a order signed by the director of the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Robert Redfield.

All travelers 2 years of age and older must comply with the exception of passengers transiting only through the United States. The CDC will also consider waivers of testing requirements for airlines serving countries with little or no testing capacity, including some locations in the Caribbean.

The ordinance significantly expands a requirement imposed on December 28 on travelers arriving from the UK as a more transmissible variant of the virus circulating there.

In an interview, Marty Cetron, director of CDC’s global migration and quarantine division, said: “We really need to take the bar really high … We need to take these changes seriously.”

Canada imposed similar rules for almost all international arrivals starting Jan. 7, like many other countries.

The CDC confirmed last week that it released a proposal to expand the testing requirement after discussing the idea for weeks. Some senior White House officials objected, and officials knowledgeable about the matter said last week that U.S. public health officials essentially foregone the winning endorsement until President-elect Joe Biden take office.

At a White House meeting on Monday, Redfield again made an urgent case to pass the testing requirements, people briefed on the meeting said. He expressed concern that the vaccines might not be effective against variants of the virus.

Airlines for America, an industry trade group, praised the test plan. Airlines also wanted a ban lifted on most non-U.S. Visitors who recently traveled to Brazil and most of Europe, but the White House has chosen not to end it.

Cetron said the entry restrictions should “be actively reconsidered”.

Cetron confirmed that the CDC had discussed the idea of ​​extending the testing requirement to U.S. domestic flights, but stressed that the new order only applies to international flights.