Toronto, Europe Brief News –International air travellers to the US are no longer need to undergo a COVID-19 test within a day before boarding their flights.
The US administration has decided to ease one of the last remaining government mandates meant to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
White House Assistant Press Secretary Kevin Munoz confirmed the news on Twitter. An official announcement from the administration was expected on Friday, the AP and Reuters news agencies reported.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will no longer require pre-departure COVID-19 testing for travelers coming to the United States after it determined based on the science and data that this requirement is no longer necessary. CDC will do a reassessment of this decision in 90 days, a senior Biden administration official told the Reuters new agency.
Since December, the CDC has required travelers to test negative within one day before flights to the United States but does not require testing for land border crossings.
The official said, “If there is a need to reinstate a pre-departure testing requirement – including due to a new, concerning variant – CDC will not hesitate to act.”
The mandate expires Sunday at 12:01am EDT (04:01 GMT) as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has determined that it’s no longer necessary, the AP news agency reported, according to an administration official.
