The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is expected Sunday to drop its requirement for incoming international travelers to test negative for COVID-19 within a day before their flight.
A senior Biden administration official told the Associated Press, who broke the news, that the mandate will expire early Sunday morning. The official said the CDC determined testing is no longer necessary.
All airline passengers two years or older with a flight to the United States from a foreign country have been required to show a negative COVID-19 test since December, no more than one day before travel, or proof of recovery from the virus within the last 90 days.
The anonymous administration official told AP news “the CDC will reevaluate the issue every 90 days and could reinstate the requirement if a troubling new variant of COVID-19 emerges”. Despite these changes, the official said the CDC will continue to recommend precautionary COVID-19 testing before air travel.
Major U.S. Airlines have canceled thousands of flights due to staff shortages entering the summer travel season. Dallas-based Southwest Airlines has cut nearly 20,000 flights, the Dallas Morning News reported. The airline expects to hire 10,00 new workers this year.
Delta expects to cancel 100 daily flights in the U.S. and Latin America through Aug.7.
An estimated 4.3 million passengers are anticipated with the U.S dropping its COVID-19 testing requirement, according to AP news.
