Houston couple stranded in Mexico after testing positive for COVID-19 during a commemoration

From January 2021, the CDC began requiring travelers to take a negative COVID-19 test to re-enter the country. Now, with the rise in vaccinations and COVID-19 cases declining, travel companies say people have booked travel abroad again.

Many people now find themselves trapped in other states after testing positive for the virus, including Houston resident Antonio Delgado, who said he was stranded after he and his wife traveled to Mexico for their anniversary.

According to the CDC, no one is able to fly to the US before it has been approved by a doctor or as proof of a negative test three days before the trip. In cases like Delgados, travelers were told to isolate between 10 and 14 days in the foreign land.

COVID-19 is already widespread in the US, with more than 22 million cases to date. The new measures are designed to prevent travelers from introducing newer forms of the virus that scientists say could spread more easily.

The CDC order applies to U.S. citizens as well as foreign travelers. International travel to the US has already been delayed by pandemic restrictions imposed last March, which banned most foreigners from Europe and other areas. According to the trade group Airlines for America, foreign travel to the US and Americans to international destinations fell by 76% in December 2020 compared to a year earlier.

Airlines are advised to prevent passengers from boarding if they do not have proof of a negative test.

“Testing does not eliminate all risks,” CDC Director Robert R. Redfield said in a statement. “But combined with a period of staying home and everyday precautions such as wearing masks and social distance, it can make travel safer, healthier and more responsible by reducing the spread on planes, airports and destinations.”

Associated Press contributed the report.

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