All international passengers flying into the US will have to provide a negative COVID-19 certificate starting January 26, an order by US’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) directs.
The test must not be more three days before arrival to the US.
CDC director Robert Redfield in the signed order added that patients travelling to the US and had tested positive must provide documented proof of recovery.
The order applies to all passengers aged 2 years and above. Those transiting through the US have been exempted from this order.
CDC issued the new order as a new coronavirus variant ravages the UK with one case reported in the US a few weeks ago.
Marty Cetron, CDC’s director for global migration and quarantine division in an interview, reports Reuters, said that “We to have really up the ante… We have to take these mutations seriously.”
Canada imposed similar rules for nearly all international arrivals starting Jan. 7, as have many other countries.
CDC has proposed the expansion of testing requirements but the proposal was opposed by White House officials under the Donald Trump administration.
With Joe Biden set to take the reigns of power, CDC hopes that the proposals will have the backing that they require to expand testing to international flights.
CDC has raised doubts on vaccines ability to cushion Americans from further infection by COVID-19.
Canada has also imposed similar rules for all arriving international passengers.
