In an order issued on Thursday, the latest rules requiring international air travellers arriving in the United States to obtain a negative COVID-19 test within one day of travel will take effect Monday.
Vaccinated international air travellers will be required to present a negative test result obtained within three days of their day of departure while unvaccinated travellers currently must get a negative COVID-19 test within one day of departure.
The order which was given by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director, Rochelle Walensky, says that the agency “must take quick and targeted action to help curtail the introduction and spread of the Omicron variant into the United States.”
According to the CDC, from Monday, “All air travellers, regardless of citizenship or vaccination status, will be required to show a negative pre-departure COVID-19 viral test taken the day before they board their flights to the United States.”
However, the order didn’t require COVID-19 testing requirements for international travellers crossing U.S. land borders with Canada or Mexico.
This comes as the President, Joe Biden, said fighting the spread of the virus, especially the new variant, during the winter months will not include new lockdown rules nor will there be an expansion of the administration’s current vaccination requirements.
Biden, during an update, said, “It doesn’t include shutdowns or lockdowns, but widespread vaccinations and boosters and testing a lot more.
“And while my existing federal vaccination requirements are being reviewed by the courts, this plan does not expand or add to those mandates — a plan that all Americans hopefully can rally around, and it should get bipartisan support, in my humble opinion,” he said.
The White House said on Monday that nearly all foreign nationals from eight southern African countries will be barred from entering the country over fears of the spread of the Omicron variant.
However, the travel restrictions are yet to be extended to other countries where the new variant has been discovered.
