The Joe Biden administration in the United States announced that June 12 (Sunday) onwards international travelers to the US will no longer need to take a pre-departure Covid-19 test and produce its negative results on the arrival. This came amid a prolonged demand from the travel industry in the US.
Travellers only need to show proof of their double dose vaccination status, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said in a statement. It will be effective from Sunday 9.31 pm in Indian Standard Time (12.01 EDT). Departures before that time will require testing.
“Widespread uptake of highly effective Covid-19 vaccines, the availability of effective therapeutics, and the accrual of high rates of vaccine- and infection-induced immunity at the population level in the United States” have all helped lower the risk of severe disease and death, the agency said.
This announcement means that travellers in flights departing to the US from a foreign country no longer have to present a negative test result or documentation of recovery in the past 90 days from Covid-19.
“CDC continues to evaluate the latest science and state of the pandemic and will reassess the need for a testing requirement if the situation changes,” the agency said in a statement, which means that the rules are subject to change if a crisis rearises.
The US has listed both Covaxin and Covishield for emergency use as per WHO guidelines.
The vaccination requirement for foreign arrivals has not changed. Therefore, adult travellers (above 18 and older) who are not US citizens, US nationals, legal permanent residents or immigrants must be fully vaccinated to travel to the US, with limited exceptions. Children 17 and under are not required to be vaccinated.
The CDC still recommends that travelers remain up to date on vaccinations and test for infection before and after travel and after any known exposure to someone with Covid-19. Further, it also continues to recommend wearing masks in indoor public transportation settings. Masks are no longer required.
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