The Biden administration is expected to announce Friday that the CDC will lift its requirement for travelers to test negative for COVID-19 before entering the U.S., according to a senior administration official.
WASHINGTON -- The Biden administration is lifting 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 spread of the coronavirus.The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to preview the formal announcement, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention determined that the testing requirement is no longer necessary.
"The whole industry has been waiting for this announcement," said Martin Ferguson, a spokesman for Global Business Travel Group Inc., which advises companies on travel policy. While domestic U.S. travel has returned nearly to pre-pandemic levels, international travel - which is very lucrative for the airlines - has continued to lag. In May, U.S. international air travel remained 24% below 2019 levels, with declines among both U.S. and foreign citizens, according to trade group Airlines for America.
"I'm glad CDC suspended the burdensome coronavirus testing requirement for international travelers, and I'll continue to do all I can to support the strong recovery of our hospitality industry," Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., said in a statement. The Biden administration put the testing requirement in place as it moved away from restrictions that banned nonessential travel from several dozen countries - most of Europe, China, Brazil, South Africa, India and Iran - to focus instead on classifying individuals by the risk they pose to others. It was coupled with a requirement that foreign, non-immigrant adults traveling to the United States need to be fully vaccinated, with only limited exceptions.
Travelers found creative ways to avoid the rule. This spring, several Canadian teams in the National Hockey League flew to cities near the border, then took buses into the U.S. to avoid the risk of losing players who tested positive.
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