Starting early Sunday morning, the Biden administration has decided to lift the requirement that all travelers to the United States, including U.S. citizens, have a negative coronavirus test before boarding the plane. A senior government official said on Friday morning.
This decision was joyfully fulfilled in the travel industry, which is working with the government to remove the requirement.
“This is a miracle on Friday,” said Mark Cust, president of the American Travel Advisors Association, an industry group. “It’s huge. It’s a monument to the travel industry.”
Casto said he believes that withdrawing mandates will increase the number of people flying to overseas hotels by double digits. American travelers are worried that if they discover they are infected and are forced to pay thousands of dollars for hotel charges and other expenses, they may get stuck abroad. He said he had postponed his vacation plan. Conversely, international travelers to the United States faced the uncertainty of a positive test result before the trip began. (Overseas travelers to the United States Must be completely vaccinated.. )
Test requirements were first introduced in January 2021, with less than 10% of Americans vaccinated and new infections reaching record levels, but have been vaccinated in recent months. Due to its high rate and low severity, representatives of the travel industry are in the Biden administration to lift the requirement.
In December 2021, amid growing concerns about Omicron variants, the CDC strengthened its rules by requiring travelers to present negative tests. Taken within 24 hours of departure.. Before, Tests done within 3 days I needed it.
According to government officials, the policy will expire at 12:01 am on Sunday after CDC authorities have determined that widespread adoption of Covid-19 vaccines and treatments no longer requires it.
However, officials said the CDC could reassess the decision within 90 days and reinstate the requirements for pre-departure testing if there are new concerns about another variant.
Government officials said the CDC would continue to recommend testing for travel.
The number of newly confirmed cases in the United States has remained almost unchanged at an average of about 110,000 per day as of Thursday for the past two weeks. According to the New York Times databaseAfter rising from less than 30,000 a few months ago. However, infectious diseases. Widely considered to be underestimated The results of home tests are often not officially reported, and many people with no or mild symptoms may not be tested at all. Deaths have fluctuated over the past few weeks, but on average remain less than 400 per day.
In recent months, as countries across Europe have lifted travel bans and more Americans travel abroad, many of them have to self-quarantine after being tested positive before returning home. It was. The CDC recommends that travelers quarantine and delay their trip by 10 days, regardless of symptoms or negative tests performed during the quarantine period.Some people don’t want to wait that long I used the “backdoor” route, rReturned via the Canadian-Mexico border, which does not require coronavirus testing.
For Biden, the decision to withdraw the requirement is welcome news when the administration is struggling in a series of ways. White House officials described the decision as a test of the president’s efforts to actively fight the virus.
The CDC’s decision was important and postponed, said Dr. Luciana Borio, a former Deputy Chief Scientist at the US Food and Drug Administration and who also oversaw the National Security Council’s public health preparedness. She said federal scientists must continue to consider pandemic response goals and how effective certain interventions are. According to her, most infections occurred domestically.
“If we were to minimize the number of Covid cases in this country, the impact of admission screening would be negligible,” she said. “We now have the tools to minimize virus-related morbidity and mortality. We need to focus on the most effective measures.”
The rule also “affects disproportionately for those who cannot afford to get stuck in an international country,” she added.
Some American travelers, who are currently traveling abroad, sighed with relief, fearing they might get stuck with a positive test on Friday. Lucia Torres, 39, who will be returning from Spain to Florida with her husband on Tuesday, is planning on the last day of her vacation because she was worried that she might test positive before returning. He said he had canceled the activity that had been done. She and her husband have been vaccinated and boosted.
“When we booked a vacation, we decided to take the risk, but it was always in our heads, so we couldn’t relax completely,” she said. Said. “Now you don’t have to worry. You can book a massage, go to a party, or do whatever people do during your vacation.”
Noah Wayland, Maria Kramer When Sarah Kahalan Report that contributed.
