Before boarding their flights, all international passengers en route to the United States must first provide evidence of a negative coronavirus test, according to a new federal policy that takes effect on January 26.
“Testing does not eliminate all risks,” said Dr. Robert R. Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a statement describing the new policy.
“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.”
Dr. Redfield is expected to sign the order setting out the new rules on Tuesday.
The new policy requires all air passengers, regardless of vaccination status, to take a test for current infection within three days before their flight to the United States and to provide written documentation of their test results or proof that they are from Covid has recovered. 19.
Evidence of vaccination will not be sufficient, as the vaccines have only been shown to prevent serious diseases, vaccinated Jason McDonald, a spokesman for the CDC, in theory may still be infected and transmitted the virus on a flight.
The agency does not require further testing in the three months following a positive test, as long as the traveler has no symptoms. In this situation, a passenger can travel with documentation of the positive test result and a letter from a healthcare provider or a public health official stating that the traveler is now ready to travel.
Airline must confirm the negative test result for all passengers or the documentation of recovery before boarding. If a passenger does not provide evidence of a negative test or repair, or prefers not to do a test, the airline should deny the passenger, the agency said.
“Testing before and after the trip is a critical layer to delay the launch and distribution of Covid-19,” officials said in a statement. “Since the US already has a boom status, the test requirement for air passengers will help slow down the spread of the virus while we are vaccinating the American public.”
The policy expands on a similar rule, implemented at the end of December, which requires travelers from Britain to provide evidence of a negative result on a test for the virus. The Trump administration has imposed the restriction following reports that a more contagious variant of the coronavirus has become the source of the majority of infections in much of the country.
This variant has since been detected in several U.S. states and has probably spread even more widely, scientists said. The United States genetically only a small portion of its virus samples consecutively – too few to have an accurate estimate for the distribution of the variant in this country.
The new travel policy comes on the heels of an announcement by the Japanese government on Tuesday that four travelers from Brazil have introduced a new variant of the virus into Japan. It is said that two other so-called worrying variants are distributed in South Africa and in Brazil.
The coronavirus outbreak>
Words to know about testing
Confused by the provisions on coronavirus testing? Let us help:
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- Antibody: A protein produced by the immune system, which can recognize and precisely attach specific types of viruses, bacteria or other invaders.
- Antibody test / serology test: A test that detects antibodies specific for the coronavirus. Antibodies begin to appear in the blood about a week after the coronavirus has infected the body. Because antibodies take so long to develop, an antibody test cannot reliably diagnose a persistent infection. But it can identify people who have been exposed to the coronavirus in the past.
- Antigen test: This test detects pieces of coronavirus proteins called antigens. Antigen tests are fast, last only five minutes, but are less accurate than tests that detect genetic material of the virus.
- Coronavirus: Any virus that belongs to the Orthocoronavirinae family of viruses. The coronavirus that causes Covid-19 is known as SARS-CoV-2.
- Covid19: The disease caused by the new coronavirus. The name is short for coronavirus disease 2019.
- Insulation and quarantine: Isolation is the separation of people who know they are sick with a contagious disease, and those who are not sick. Quarantine refers to restricting the movement of people exposed to a virus.
- Nasopharyngeal swab: A long, flexible stick, with a soft swab, which is placed deep in the nose to get samples from the space where the nasal cavity reaches the throat. Samples for coronavirus tests can also be collected with swabs that do not go as deep into the nose – sometimes called nasal swabs – or mouth or throat swabs.
- Polymerase chain reaction (PCR): Scientists use PCR to make millions of copies of genetic material in a sample. Tests using PCR allow researchers to detect the coronavirus, even if it is rare.
- Viral charge: The amount of virus in a person’s body. In people infected with the coronavirus, the viral load can peak before it begins to show symptoms, if symptoms occur at all.
The White House task force Coronavirus and federal agencies, including the CDC, have been debating the extended requirements for weeks.
The CDC currently recommends that all air travelers, including those flying within the United States, be tested one to three days before the trip, and again three to five days after the trip is completed.
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Many airlines offer optional tests for passengers, but only require it when destinations require it. But last week, a group representing major U.S. airlines supported a policy that required all passengers to be tested.
In a statement, United Airlines welcomed the move, saying testing was “the key to unlocking international borders.”
“United already has procedures in place to comply with similar orders for international jurisdictions, and we plan to extend them in the light of this new mandate,” the airline said in a statement.
“In addition, United is actively working to introduce new technologies and processes to make testing these testing requirements easier for our employees and our customers.”
Niraj Chokshi reported.