U.S. Will Lift COVID-19 Testing Requirement for International Air Travelers
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On Friday, the Biden Administration announced a COVID-19 testing requirement for air travelers will be lifted.
Starting on June 12, international travelers will no longer be required to get a negative COVID-19 test before entering the U.S., per CNN, the first outlet to report the news.
The White House Assistant Press Secretary Kevin Munoz also tweeted the news of the mandates end on Friday with a link to the CNN article.
"US will end Covid-19 testing requirement for air travelers entering the country," he wrote in the tweet. "@CDCgov will evaluate its need based on the science and in context of circulating variants."
US will end Covid-19 testing requirement for air travelers entering the country
@CDCgov will evaluate its need based on the science and in context of circulating variants
@POTUS work on effective vaccines and treatments critical to this https://t.co/cpdlNfRHbt— Kevin Munoz (@KMunoz46) June 10, 2022
In the next 90 days, the CDC will determine if the order should be put back in place, per CNN.
The testing requirement was first established in January 2021, the deadliest month of the entire pandemic with more than 95,245 deaths in the U.S.
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The latest COVID-19 lift comes after the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced in April they will no longer enforce the CDC's mask mandate for travel. The announcement was determined after a federal judge in Florida struck down the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) instruction.
Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump, said that the CDC overstepped its authority. Despite the court order, the CDC still recommends people wear masks while traveling on indoor public transportation.
"The agencies are reviewing the decision and assessing potential next steps. In the meantime, today's court decision means CDC's public transportation masking order is not in effect at this time," a Biden administration official said in a statement to several outlets at the time.
During a press briefing after the April ruling, former White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the decision was "disappointing." She also added that the Biden Administration was reviewing the decision, which they chose to appeal.
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