The United States will reportedly no longer require international air travelers to be tested for COVID-19 before traveling to the United States. The change will take effect on Sunday morning, June 12, and the CENTERS for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will re-evaluate the decision after three months, Reuters reported. That means people flying to the U.S. won’t have to worry about getting tested for COVID-19 before they fly, at least until the summer travel season is over.

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Prior to the reported change, vaccinated and unvaccinated passengers had to be tested the day before they entered the United States, according to the CDC’s travel requirements page. The only exception is children under the age of two, who are not required to be tested.

Initially concerned about the spread of the Alpha variant (and later of the Delta and Omicron variants), the US imposed this requirement in January 2021. This is the latest aviation safety requirement to be dropped; Most airlines stopped requiring masks in April after a federal judge struck down their requirement on public transportation.

According to Reuters, an American airline executive attacked the US requirement, while Delta’S CHIEF executive Ed Bastian defended the policy change, saying most countries do not require testing. The UK, for example, says travellers do not have to take “any COVID-19 tests” upon arrival. Countries such as Mexico, Norway and Switzerland have introduced similar policies.

Other countries, such as Canada and Spain, are stricter: vaccinated travelers are not required to submit a test, but a negative test result is required if the traveler cannot produce proof of vaccination. Japan’s requirements are based on which country the traveler is from, while Australia requires vaccination but not pre-travel testing.


Post time: Jun-13-2022