International Travelers Will Likely Need Negative COVID Test To Visit US

Travelers from abroad seeking to visit the U.S. could have to prove they had a negative test for the coronavirus before getting on a plane, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday (Jan. 12) citing sources.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to issue an order that would go into effect on Jan. 26, the WSJ reported, citing a source. 

The CDC has been in talks with federal agencies as well as with the Trump administration’s coronavirus task force, discussing the merits of a universal testing of international travelers, regardless of where they are from or going.

The White House recently mandated COVID testing for anyone traveling from the U.K. after a second strain of the virus was found there. It has since been confirmed in several locations in the U.S. and elsewhere abroad. Airlines in the U.S. are backing the requirement and said testing should replace restrictions.

A “well-planned program focused on increasing testing of travelers to the United States will further these objectives in a much more effective way than the blanket travel restrictions currently in place,” trade group Airlines for America CEO Nick Calio wrote in a letter to Vice President Mike Pence, per the WSJ.

Calio said any mandates should consider countries with limited testing capabilities, and he suggested the government make rapid testing available for the effort. He also touched on other complications, such as what to do with passengers who make short, international round-trips.

Canada started mandating that international travelers prove they are negative for the coronavirus before getting on a plane to the country. An airline trade group there said it would be a difficult rule to enforce.    

Compulsory vaccinations will be necessary before international travel will see any return to normalcy, said Australia’s Qantas Airlines CEO Alan Joyce. He said Qantas will require it once a vaccine is widely available, and he said he thinks that airlines worldwide should follow suit.

The notion of a vaccine passport or digital health credentials showing that a person was vaccinated against COVID-19 is an idea some officials think is necessary to get back to normal faster. How much freedom such passports would provide is still being discussed.