The United States lifted its requirement that international travelers test negative for COVID-19 within a day before boarding a flight to the United States like Canada, Britain and many other countries. BBC reports.
U.S. authorities said they canceled the tests because of the tremendous progress made by the state in the fight against the virus. In addition, the travel industry insisted on lifting the requirement, because the need to do the tests before arriving scared travelers who were afraid of being stranded overseas.
The tests were canceled on June 12.
However, the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will review the policy in 90 days. Authorities said they would not hesitate to reinstate testing, if new strains of the coronavirus were found in the country.
«We are able to take this step because of tremendous progress: we have created life-saving vaccines and made treatments widely available, and these tools work to prevent serious illness and death from the coronavirus,» a senior official is quoted by the U.S. media as saying.
That said, most non-U.S. citizens, who want to enter the state, must still be vaccinated.
