Proof of Negative COVID Test Required for Everyone Entering the United States
If you are traveling from abroad to visit Walt Disney World and the United States or even if you are a United States Citizen who is traveling from a trip abroad, this is super important information. Beginning January 26, 2021, everyone traveling to the United States will be required to show proof of a negative COVID test that was taken no more than 72 hours from your flight departure time.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the governing body who is overseeing this new requirement for proof of a negative COVID test to enter the United States. This is the official statement:
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expanding the requirement for a negative COVID-19 test to all air passengers entering the United States. Testing before and after travel is a critical layer to slow the introduction and spread of COVID-19. This strategy is consistent with the current phase of the pandemic and more efficiently protects the health of Americans.
Variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus continue to emerge in countries around the world, and there is evidence of increased transmissibility of some of these variants. With the US already in surge status, the testing requirement for air passengers will help slow the spread of the virus as we work to vaccinate the American public.
Before departure to the United States, a required test, combined with the CDC recommendations to get tested again 3-5 days after arrival and stay home for 7 days post-travel, will help slow the spread of COVID-19 within US communities from travel-related infections. Pre-departure testing with results known and acted upon before travel begins will help identify infected travelers before they board airplanes.
Air passengers are required to get a viral test (a test for current infection) within the 3 days before their flight to the U.S. departs, and provide written documentation of their laboratory test result (paper or electronic copy) to the airline or provide documentation of having recovered from COVID-19. Airlines must confirm the negative test result for all passengers or documentation of recovery before they board. If a passenger does not provide documentation of a negative test or recovery, or chooses not to take a test, the airline must deny boarding to the passenger.
“Testing does not eliminate all risk,” says CDC Director Robert R. Redfield, MD, “but when combined with a period of staying at home and everyday precautions like wearing masks and social distancing, it can make travel safer, healthier, and more responsible by reducing spread on planes, in airports, and at destinations.”
This order was signed by the CDC Director on January 12, 2021 and will become effective on January 26, 2021.
This new order requiring proof of a negative COVID test to enter the United States brings up a lot of questions. I have found this website from the CDC useful in answering all of them.
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