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US drops COVID-19 testing for incoming international air travellers

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The Biden administration has dropped the requirement for international air travellers to the United States to undergo a COVID-19 test within one day of boarding their flights, removing one of the last remaining government restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of coronavirus.

The mandate will expire on June 12 at 9:31 a.m. (IST), according to a senior administration official, because the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has determined that it is no longer essential.

The official, speaking on Friday on the condition of anonymity to preview the formal announcement, said that the agency would re-evaluate the need for the testing requirement every 90 days and that it could be reinstated if a troubling new variant emerges.

The Biden administration put in place the testing requirement last year, as it moved away from restrictions that banned non-essential travel from several dozen countries — most of Europe, China, Brazil, South Africa, India and Iran — and instead focuses on classifying individuals by the risk they pose to others. It came in conjunction with a requirement that foreign, non-immigrant adults traveling to the United States need to be fully vaccinated, with only limited exceptions.

The initial mandate allowed those who were fully vaccinated to show proof of a negative test within three days of travel, while unvaccinated people had to present a test taken within one day of travel.

In November, as the highly transmissible omicron variant swept the world, the Biden administration toughened the requirement and required all travellers, regardless of vaccination status, to test within a day of travel to the U.S.

Airline and tourism groups have been pressing the administration for months, pushing to eliminate the testing requirement, saying it is discouraging people from booking international trips. Many other countries have lifted their testing requirements for fully vaccinated and boosted travellers in a bit to increase tourism.

In February, the groups argued the testing requirement was obsolete because of the high number of omicron cases already in every state, higher vaccinations rates and new treatments for the virus.

Source: AP