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/ Wednesday, June 15, 2022
US lifts COVID-19 test requirement for international travel
The CDC will continue to monitor the state of the pandemic
Licensed vocational nurse Caren Williams, right, collects a nasal swab sample from a traveler at a COVID-19 testing site at the Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, on Nov. 23, 2020. > AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
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Zeke Miller and David Koenig –The Associated Press
ASHINGTON — The Biden administration lifted its requirement that international travelers test negative for COVID-19 within a day before boarding a flight to the United States, ending one of the last remaining government mandates designed to contain the Many other countries have lifted their testing spread of the coronavirus. requirements for fully vaccinated and boosted The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention travelers in a bid to increase tourism. announced last Friday that the requirement was to Some infectious-disease experts said they were end early Sunday morning. The health agency said it comfortable with the CDC’s decision, and that lifting will continue to monitor state of the pandemic and will reassess the need for a testing requirement if the the restriction is unlikely to cause further spread of the virus in the U.S. situation changes. Dr. William Schaffner of Vanderbilt University said “This step is possible because of the progress we’ve made in our fight against COVID-19,” said U.S. Health the rule was designed to prevent importing the virus, “but we’ve got plenty of COVID here. It’s like telling Secretary Xavier Becerra. someone not to pour a bucket of water in their Airline and tourism groups have been pressing swimming pool.” the administration for months to eliminate the Dr. Peter Chin-Hong at the University of California, testing requirement, saying it discourages people San Francisco, said travel restrictions demonstrate from booking international trips because they could that officials are trying to keep be stranded overseas if they variants out, “but they haven’t contract the virus on their trip. really shown to be beneficial, Roger Dow, president of the ever.” However, he said, requiring U.S. Travel Association, called foreign visitors to be vaccinated lifting the testing rule “another makes sense to avoid straining huge step forward for the Many other countries the U.S. health-care system with recovery of inbound air travel have lifted their people who could develop severe and the return of international testing requirements disease. travel to the United States.” for fully vaccinated The requirement for a negative Airlines argued that the rule and boosted travelers COVID-19 test before flying to the was put into effect when few in a bid to increase U.S. dates to January 2021 and is Americans were vaccinated — tourism. the most visible remaining U.S. now 71% of those 5 and older are travel restriction of the pandemic fully vaccinated, according to CDC era. figures. They also complained In April, a federal judge in that people entering the U.S. Florida struck down a requirement that passengers at land borders are not required to test negative wear masks on planes and public transportation, for COVID-19, although they must show proof of saying that the CDC had exceeded its authority. The vaccination. Biden administration is appealing that ruling, saying it While domestic U.S. travel has returned nearly to aims to protect the CDC’s ability to respond to future pre-pandemic levels, international travel — which is health emergencies. very lucrative for the airlines — has continued to lag. The Biden administration put the testing In May, U.S. international air travel remained 24% below 2019 levels, with declines among both U.S. and requirement in place as it moved away from rules that banned nonessential travel from dozens of foreign citizens, according to trade group Airlines for countries — most of Europe, China, Brazil, South America.
In fact,
…we’ve got plenty of COVID here. It’s like telling someone not to pour a bucket of water in their swimming pool. Dr. William Schaffner, Vanderbilt University
Africa, India and Iran — and focused instead on classifying individuals by the risk they pose to others. It was coupled with a requirement that foreign, nonimmigrant adults traveling to the United States need to be fully vaccinated, with only limited exceptions. The initial mandate allowed those who were fully vaccinated to show proof of a negative test within three days of travel, while unvaccinated people had to present a test taken within one day of travel. In November, as the highly transmissible omicron variant swept the world, the Biden administration toughened the requirement and required all travelers — regardless of vaccination status — to test negative within a day of travel to the U.S. In February, travel groups argued that the testing requirement was obsolete because of the high number of omicron cases already in every state, higher vaccinations rates and new treatments for the virus. U.S. airlines estimate that dropping the test requirement will mean 4.3 million more passengers in one year. It is unclear, however, whether airlines can boost flights quickly enough to handle that kind of increase. Airlines facing a shortage of pilots have already scaled back their original schedules for the peak summer vacation season.
