Health professional conducts COVID-19 test in laboratory at Sao Paulo International Airport
by David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States will stop requiring pre-boarding Covid-19 tests for passengers flying into the country from 12:01 p.m. on Sunday, a spokesman said. told Reuters.
President Joe Biden’s administration will announce later this Friday that pre-departure Covid-19 testing will no longer be required for travelers to the United States, after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) determines based on science. and data, that this requirement is no longer necessary. The official said the CDC will review the decision in 90 days.
Since December, the CDC has required travelers to test negative for COVID-19 within one day of flights to the United States, but not to require the test to cross a land border.
“If a pre-departure testing requirement needs to be reinstated — including a new version — CDC will not hesitate to act,” he said.
American Airlines chief executive Robert Isom said at a conference last week that the testing requirements were “meaningless” and affecting both leisure and business travel.
Airlines said many Americans are not traveling internationally because of concerns they will test positive and be stranded abroad.
Isom said 75% of the countries visited by Americans do not have testing requirements.
In December, the CDC tightened the requirements for international air travelers to obtain a negative COVID test the day before their flight, three days before arrival in the United States.
