CDC Publishes Rule Restricting Travel Into US, Requires Negative COVID-19 Test Within One Day of Arrival

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) published caller question restrictions for anyone trying to participate the United States, saying that travelers volition person to taxable a antagonistic COVID-19 trial 1 time earlier arriving.

“As the microorganism that causes COVID-19 spreads, it has caller opportunities to alteration (mutate) and go much hard to control,” the CDC wrote successful the caller order, published this week (pdf). “While it is known and expected that viruses alteration done mutation starring to the emergence of caller variants, the emergent Omicron variant is peculiarly concerning and of captious value for this Amended Order.”

The bureau rationalized the determination by saying that it’s not known whether the COVID-19 Omicron variant tin breach the extortion provided by vaccines.

Tests that are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are the lone ones acceptable for use, the bureau said.

All passengers, including radical who are afloat vaccinated, indispensable get a viral trial “collected nary much than 1 calendar time earlier their flight’s departure to conscionable the requirements of this Amended Order,” it reads. The lone objection is radical “who contiguous a valid Documentation of Recovery,” said the CDC order.

“The one-day clip window, a simplification from the erstwhile 3-day model for afloat vaccinated passengers, volition supply little accidental to make corruption with the Omicron variant anterior to accomplishment into the United States,” the CDC wrote, adding that its regularisation takes effect Dec. 6.

The caller restrictions travel amid worldwide panic implicit the Omicron strain, which was dubbed a variant of interest by the World Health Organization (WHO)  past week. Other countries, including the 27-nation European Union, person placed question restrictions connected confederate Africa, wherever Omicron was discovered by section officials.

WHO’s main idiosyncratic connected Friday,  Soumya Swaminathan, urged radical not to panic implicit the emergence of the caller variant, saying it’s excessively aboriginal to find if COVID-19 vaccines request to beryllium modified.

In an interrogation with Reuters, Swaminathan besides said it was intolerable to foretell if Omicron would go the ascendant strain. Omicron has gained a foothold successful Asia, Africa, the Americas, the Middle East, and Europe and has reached 7 of the 9 provinces of South Africa, wherever it was archetypal identified.

“How disquieted should we be? We request to beryllium prepared and cautious, not panic, due to the fact that we’re successful a antithetic concern to a twelvemonth ago,” she remarked Friday. “Delta accounts for 99 percent of infections astir the world. This variant would person to beryllium much transmissible to out-compete and go ascendant worldwide. It is possible, but it’s not imaginable to predict.”

COVID-19 is the unwellness caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.