It has been reported that US authorities are contemplating mandating all visitors to the country to be tested for Covid-19 the day before their trip and requiring all visitors returning home, regardless of vaccination status, to be tested again upon arrival.
Biden Administration Is Considering Testing Coronavirus For All Visitors
During the night of Tuesday, authorities were deliberating about possible changes. A decision may have been reached by the end of this week, but there are no guarantees. Passengers who have received immunizations are required to perform a test three days before their flight.
In the proposed plan, that schedule would be cut to only one day. White House officials said that a forced quarantine for returning US citizens is not presently being considered.
The government’s analysis of the best methods to protect the American people against COVID-19 has been bolstered by new information about the Omicron version.
This includes looking at the possibility of more stringent testing criteria for international travel in the future. According to a White House official who talked to the media, there are ongoing policy discussions, and no final decisions have been made.
According to the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), pre-departure testing closer to the time of flight is being considered as well as extra post-arrival testing and self-quarantine concerns.
CDC is strengthening surveillance at four major international airports to identify Omicron variation among passengers, according to Walensky further.
The United States Surgeon General stated that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are currently considering many options. Even though it hasn’t yet made a final decision, I believe that some of the changes it is considering might significantly impact its ability to detect infections before they reach the US.
On Monday, the United States blocked all travel from South Africa and seven neighboring nations. However, US citizens and legal permanent residents are exempt from the ban because of their status as citizens and permanent residents of the United States of America. “It depends on the circumstances,” President Joe Biden said Tuesday when asked how long the current travel restrictions will remain in place.
It’s done every week to determine what we need and what the present state of affairs is. Finally, he said that “we will learn a lot more in the coming weeks about this virus’s lethality as well as how quickly it spreads, and whether or not our current tools can manage it.”
Vice President Joe Biden is scheduled to make an announcement on a national strategy to attack Covid-19 this winter on Thursday, December 14. He has said that the new strategy would focus on more preventative measures, such as vaccinations, booster shots, testing, and the like, rather than the old shutdown and lockdown techniques.
No more limitations on travel have been announced by the Biden administration so far. As a result, the inquiry into the new type is moving forward at a rapid rate.
Medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci said at a news conference on Monday that although PCR Covid-19 detection tests and specific fast antigen testing may be able to identify the new version, it was not clear whether all rapid tests would be able to detect the variant.
On Tuesday, the White House’s Covid-19 response coordinator, Jeff Zients, admitted that the FDA does not believe that the high-volume PCR and rapid antigen testing normally used in the United States would help discover the variant.