President Biden’s administration is ending an onerous travel rule that required people entering the US — including American citizens — to present a negative COVID-19 test.
The rule was strongly opposed by airlines and by some members of both political parties in Congress, who said it depressed travel and noted that most European countries long ago ditched similar rules.
A senior Biden administration official said, “Today, the Administration is announcing an important update: CDC will no longer require pre-departure COVID-19 testing for U.S.-bound air travelers, effective Sunday, June 12th at 12:01 a.m. ET.”
The official said that “CDC has determined based on the science and data that this requirement is no longer necessary at this time. CDC will do a reassessment of this decision in 90 days, and as with other policies, CDC will continue to evaluate it on an ongoing basis.”
“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 official added. “We are able to take this step because of the tremendous progress we’ve made in our fight against the virus: We have made lifesaving vaccines and treatments widely available and these tools are working to prevent serious illness and death, and are effective against the prevalent variants circulating in the U.S. and around the world.”
