US to lift negative COVID test requirement for air travelers

 

The Biden administration announced on Friday that it will remove the requirement for travelers to test negative for COVID-19 before entering the U.S.

The change will take place for air travelers entering the U.S. at midnight on Sunday, CNN reported.

The CDC decided the restrictions were no longer necessary after the travel industry asked for the rule change for the last few months, advocating that the measure was not needed “based on the science and data,” a senior administration source told CNN.

The restriction went into effect during early 2021, put in place by the Trump administration and then expanded by the Biden administration. It required air travelers entering the U.S., including American citizens, to provide a negative COVID-19 test before getting onto planes. U.S. land boarder crossings were not included in the regulation.

The measure was harming travel demand, the airline and travel industry had been telling the administration, pushing for the rule to be lifted. Politicians from both parties had been urging the administration to remove the requirement, saying it was not longer necessary and was negatively impacting the hospitality industry.

The CDC said that it will examine the move in three months in order to determine if it needs to be reinstated, according to CNBC.