A senior White House official stated on Friday, June 10, that the requirement, that persons entering the United States of America by air take a COVID-19 test within a day of boarding their aircraft, will be removed as of Sunday.
Until now, all travellers had to show their airline a negative COVID-19 test; one that was less than 24 hours old before flying to the United States.
Only persons who had recovered from an infection during the previous 90 days; and had documentation of it — were exempt.
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White House associate press secretary Kevin Munoz stated that a formal statement would be announced in due time via a Twitter post.
US will end Covid-19 testing requirement for air travelers entering the country
@CDCgov will evaluate its need based on the science and in context of circulating variants
@POTUS work on effective vaccines and treatments critical to this https://t.co/cpdlNfRHbt
— Kevin Munoz (@KMunoz46) June 10, 2022
The move comes as the hectic summer travel season gets underway; with airlines bracing for record demand. Many US passengers are not going worldwide, according to airlines, because they are afraid of testing positive and being stranded abroad.
According to the Associated Press, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has ruled that pre-departure COVID-19 testing are no longer necessary, citing a Biden administration official.
The government will reevaluate the necessity for the testing requirement every 90 days, according to the official; and it may be reinstated if a problematic new COVID-19 variety arises.
International Travels Made Easier
Since January 2021, entering overseas air flyers have been required to provide pre-departure negative testing. Testing is not required for land border crossings; but it is required for international arrivals, according to the CDC.
President Joe Biden’s administration reinforced the rule in November, when the highly transmissible omicron strain swept the globe, requiring all travellers, regardless of vaccination status, to test within a day of arrival in the United States.
In recent weeks, the US government has steadily eased COVID prohibitions. The number of new infections, on the other hand, has recently climbed again. Every day, over 300 persons in the United States die as a result of coronavirus infection.
