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The U.S. is imposing stricter testing rules for international travel to prevent the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant in the country.
This post will look at what we know about the new testing requirements so far.
U.S. Imposing Stricter Testing Rules Due To Omicron
The latest Covid-19 variant discovered in South Africa, Omicron, has caused dozens of countries to add stricter travel restrictions or outright ban foreign arrivals, such as the case in Japan.
Over the weekend, the U.S. announced that they would heavily restrict travel from South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique, and Malawi. Only U.S. citizens and legal residents can travel into the U.S. from the countries.
By next week, the U.S. will tighten entry requirements further by shortening the timeline of the testing rules.
Current U.S. entry requirements require all incoming arrivals to take a negative Covid-19 test within 3-days of their flight.
On Tuesday, a Whitehouse official said that Biden administration officials were evaluating a requirement that all incoming international travelers would have to obtain a negative Covid-19 test just one day before their trip, shortening the window by two days.
Update since publishing – On December 2, 2021, Biden confirmed the 1-day test requirement changes are coming and should be in place by next week.
It was reported that the stricter testing rules are being discussed ahead of a speech on Thursday, in which Biden is expected to propose a plan to tackle the surge of Covid cases.
Since then, three White House officials have confirmed that a tightened testing window is coming.
The officials acknowledged that additional quarantine measures are under consideration but said there are no current plans to implement any.
The new requirements come ahead of another busy holiday travel period, with Christmas less than a month away. The number of Americans traveling over the Thanksgiving period set a new pandemic record.
U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said the travel restrictions won't “permanently keep out a variant” but can buy time to “vaccinate more people, learn more about the variant [and] work on strengthening even further travel safety measures, including testing.”
“The CDC is considering a number of measures — right now, it hasn't fully decided on what it's implementing,” Murthy continued. “But I do believe some of the measures it's considering will have a substantial impact on our ability to detect the virus before it arrives here.”
CDC Confirms It Is Working On Modifying Entry Requirements
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed that it is working on modifying the current global testing order for travel as more data comes in on the Omicron variant.
Director of the CDC, Rochelle Walensky, said the agency was examining “how to make international travel as safe as possible, including pre-departure testing closer to the time of flight, and considerations around additional post-arrival testing and self-quarantines.”
A spokesperson for CDC said:
“A revised order would shorten the timeline for required testing for all international air travelers to one day before departure to the United States. This strengthens already robust protocols in place for international travel, including requirements for foreign travelers to be fully vaccinated.”
Will There Be More Restrictions In The U.S.?
Biden has repeated that Americans should not panic about the new variant, which has not yet been detected in the U.S.
He said that the plan to tackle Covid would be with vaccinations and testing rather than lockdowns.
“We’re going to fight this Covid this winter not with shutdowns and lockdowns, but with more widespread vaccinations, boosters, testing, and much more,” the U.S. president said.
“In the meantime, the best protection is getting fully vaccinated, getting a booster shot. I urge all Americans who haven’t yet to get that done. Get it done today.”
Read more:
Travel Insurance That Covers Covid-19
Morocco Suspends All Incoming Flights
Israel Bans Foreign Tourism Over New Variant Concerns
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Eduardo
Wednesday 1st of December 2021
How did this new variant spread to the US? Only vaccinated travelers can arrive in South Africa and from my understanding, only South Africans that are vaccinated can travel outside their own country.
I'm still trying to figure out how the unvaccinated spread Omicron outside of South Africa. Does anyone have any insights?
Elisa
Friday 3rd of December 2021
@Eduardo, vaccinated people - unfortunately - still spread the virus, they just don't get that ill as the unvaccinated once they have corona. My (unvaccinated) mom got corona from my (vaccinated) brother. She was very sick for three weeks, while my brother didn't even notice he had the virus.
Christian
Wednesday 1st of December 2021
@Eduardo, First, the "vaccine" (gene therapy) doesn't prevent contagion. Instead, it supposedly suppresses the symptoms. Second, the reason why Omicron and other mutations spread among the vaccinated is due to the "breakthrough infections". Breakthrough infections could be avoided if vaccines were effective. Vaccines that are not effective gives the virus plenty of time to adapt and mutate in an environment where most people are vaccinated.
Tina
Wednesday 1st of December 2021
@Eduardo, vaccines don't prevent transmission and Americans don't have to be vaccinated to travel back, only non-citizens do.
MizCricket
Wednesday 1st of December 2021
Interesting that the physician in S. Africa who discovered this variant & reported it, also said her patients had MILD cases OR were ASYMPTOMATIC.
Pandemics don't last this long...they wane because there are no hosts (aka herd immunity). BTW, vaccines PREVENT a disease. The "jab" is JUST a SHOT...FLU SHOT. It is NOT a vaccine in the true definition.
The MSM has done a "fine" job of continuing this panic for Big Pharma, Globalist governments. Also interesting that the U.S. Government contracted with Moderna to BUY the rights to Moderna's Coronavirus vaccine in 2015. 2015. Rest your head on that one.
Tina
Wednesday 1st of December 2021
@MizCricket, in my view this thing has been purely political for at least a year. Yes there are some that get severely ill, and probably more than with the flu, pneumonia, meningitis, mono etc. But I can't recall any healthcare system ACTUALLY having collapsed ("stretched" for a few days is not collapsed and not unusual in even the strongest of systems, neither is transferring a handful of patients from one hospital to another). Surely severe disease is now further limited through the vaccine for those who are vulnerable and/or old. The rest can get it naturally. Therw will always be the odd exception ofnyounger, healthy people getting ill (like they used to with any of the above diseases as well). They're not the rule. At this point, how exactly is there a difference to any other year prior to 2020 aside from fearmongering hysteria? Pfizer/Moderna make 1000/second off the vaccine that 90% of people don't need to begin with and is nowhere near what it was claimed to be - because you're right, anyone who assumed lifelong immunity like with MMR or hep was simply naive. It's a normal respiratory virus that will keep mutating into less dangerous versions, like all respiratory virus do. Like with the flu, get a jab once a year if you want, otherwise get it naturally and move on.
Dee
Wednesday 1st of December 2021
But the diseased, unvaccinated who transmit at a higher viral load rate are still able to travel domestically with no additional measures? Absolutely absurd.
Dee
Thursday 2nd of December 2021
@Johnathan,
Mods allowing disinformation again while not approving my earlier comments.
Actually, you’re the one who is incorrect. Perhaps you should actually read the abstract and numerous articles explaining this. The results of the Lancet study show that PEAK load may be similar between vaccinated and unvaccinated, but vaccinated people are significantly more likely to have lower overall viral load, which leads to being less contagious. There have been countless studies showing this, including both the original strain and Delta.
If you want to cherry pick one study and spin the narrative, feel free to do so — but your propaganda will always be rightfully checked.
Also, convenient you cited the University of Oxford and failed to mention the study they did that was published in October literally stating that vaccinated people are less likely to transmit the virus.
(link)
Thanks for playing.
Johnathan
Wednesday 1st of December 2021
@Dee, Incorrect. A study by the prestigious Oxford University Clinical Research Group, published Aug. 10 in The Lancet, found vaccinated individuals carry 251 times the load of COVID-19 viruses in their nostrils compared to the unvaccinated. And traveling is a right for all Americans. We have rights in America, it's not a communist country, at least not yet.
NS
Wednesday 1st of December 2021
@Dee, It's called the United States for a reason. Florida, Texas, and many other states won't permit what you want. Then a year from now when Republicans sweep congress, this covid bureaucratic dystopia will start to be dismantled.
MF
Wednesday 1st of December 2021
Vaccinated and unvaccinated Americans are now equal. Whatever “freedoms” are promised for vaccinated people have been retracted months or even weeks after their granting.
Tina
Wednesday 1st of December 2021
@MF, agree, which is why there's no way they will ever get their vaccination numbers up. Why would anyone who's healthy and below 50 get vaccinated? There's zero threat to them and they have no other advantages from the vaccine, so why bother. I'm vaccinated but will gladly pass on further vaccinations going forward.