A person takes COVID-19 test at mobile testing site near Grand Central Terminal on Friday, Dec. 3, 2021, in New York.
Highlights
- US has mandated a negative Covid-19 report for all passengers, including those from India.
- The new mandate will be in effect from December 6.
- A proof of recovery from the Covid infection is also acceptable.
Amid rising concern for the Omicron variant of Covid-19, the United States on Sunday mandated all passengers, including those from India, to carry a negative Covid-19 report. Proof of recovery from the Covid infection is also acceptable. The new protocol comes into effect from December 6, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has said.
“This amendment updates COVID-19 testing requirements for air passengers 2 years or older boarding a flight to the United States,” Indian government officials informed Indian-American community leaders on Saturday.
Here's all you need to know:
- All passengers are required to show a negative COVID-19 viral test result taken no more than 1 day before travel.
- The new amended order will be effective for flights departing to the US from a foreign country at or after 12:01 AM EST (5:01 AM GMT or 10:31 AM IST) on December 6, 2021.
- Air passengers will also be required to confirm in the form of attestation that the information they present is true.
- The order uses a 1-day time frame instead of 24 hours to provide more flexibility to the air passenger and aircraft operator.
- Test acceptability does not depend on the time of the flight or the time of day that the test sample was taken.
- The number of people testing positive statewide each day for the virus has doubled in the last 30 days.
In New York alone, a total of 8 cases of the new Omicron Covid variant has been traced. Out of these, 3 were reported on Saturday. The number of states finding the variant is growing as well, with Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Washington state announcing their first cases Saturday, a day after New Jersey, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Maryland reported their first confirmed cases. Missouri reported its first presumed case Friday.
The variant also has been detected in Nebraska, Minnesota, California, Hawaii, Colorado, and Utah.
