An administration official informed CNN Jobs that the Biden administration's new, tougher Covid-19 testing criteria for all visitors to the United States will take effect on Monday.
The new restrictions will force each visitor traveling into the United States from another nation to test negative one day prior to departure, reversing previous standards that permitted inbound travelers to test up to three days prior to entry. The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention's new rule will go into effect at 12:01 a.m. ET on Monday.
The policy move unveiled alongside a slew of additional initiatives to combat Covid-19 this winter by President Joe Biden, emphasizes the potential threat posed by the newly found Omicron strain. Scientists jobs are still trying to figure out how contagious the variety is, how sick it makes people, and how effective current immunizations are at combating it. "Experts say that Covid-19 jobs and cases will continue to rise in the weeks ahead and this winter," the President said. "So we need to be ready."
Any foreign national going to the United States must be properly vaccinated, while there is no necessity for immunization for American citizens flying internationally or domestically. A vaccine requirement for domestic travel remained on the table as a potential option, according to the White House earlier in the day.
