Further to our prior blog post regarding the new requirement of negative COVID-19 tests for travelers arriving in the United States from the United Kingdom, today the Center for Disease Control (CDC) has expanded that requirement to cover all air passengers arriving to the United States from a foreign country (and not just the United Kingdom). The CDC’s order requires air passengers to be tested no more than 3 days before flight departure and to provide proof of the negative test result (or proof of recovery from COVID-19) to the airline before boarding. The CDC’s order goes into effect in two weeks, on January 26, 2021, and applies to all air travelers including US citizens and legal permanent residents. With this expanded scope, the United State’s COVID-19 testing requirement mirrors that of Canada, where the COVID-19 test requirement went into effect January 7, 2021.
The expanded scope in the US also comes on the heels of the UK’s introduction of the same requirement for all international arrivals, effective January 15, 2021. As of that date, all travelers (including UK nationals returning home from travel abroad) must provide evidence of a negative COVID-19 test result taken up to 3 days before departure.