No More COVID Testing Requirements For People Traveling To The U.S.

Biden to Halt Covid-19 Test Requirement for Air Travelers to U.S. – The Wall Street Journal

The Biden administration is ending a government mandate requiring international travelers to test negative for COVID-19 before flying to the United States.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will lift the requirement that travelers test negative for Covid-19 before entering the US, effective Sunday. The measure had been in place since January 2021, but the CDC decided it no longer needed it.

Travel industry officials urged the Biden administration to end the requirement that vaccinated international travelers take a coronavirus test before flying to the US. The industry believed lifting the requirement would lead more foreigners to visit the US.

The airline industry and some medical experts have criticized the policy as out of date, and some have questioned its utility.

Airlines argued that the rule was put into effect when few Americans were vaccinated, and that people entering the U.S. at land borders are not required to test negative for COVID-19.

Domestic U.S. travel has returned nearly to pre-pandemic levels, but international air travel has continued to lag. Many other countries have lifted their testing requirements for fully vaccinated and boosted travelers in a bid to increase tourism.

A federal judge struck down a CDC requirement that passengers wear masks on planes and public transportation, but the Biden administration is appealing that ruling.

The Biden administration put a requirement in place that all travelers must test negative within a day of travel to the U.S., regardless of vaccination status, as it moved away from restrictions that banned nonessential travel from several dozen countries.

Airlines estimate that dropping the test requirement will mean more passengers in one year, but it is unclear if they can boost flights quickly enough to handle that increase.

For more information on this story, consider the following news outlets for additional details.

  1. Biden to Halt Covid-19 Test Requirement for Air Travelers to U.S.  The Wall Street Journal
  2. 12 NEWS NOW: US lifts COVID-19 test requirement for international travel  WPRI
  3. US will end Covid-19 testing requirement for air travelers entering the country  CNN
  4. US negative COVID-19 test mandate ends for international travel Sunday  WTHR
  5. Flyers to US Won’t Have to Test for Covid-19  Bloomberg
  6. View Full Coverage on Google News