CDC issues new guidance requiring all international travelers flying into the US to have a negative COVID-19 test
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced Jan. 15, 2021, that all travelers flying into the United States from an international destination will be required to have a negative COVID-19 test result. These test results must be obtained within three days before departing.
The CDC does make some exceptions for this new requirement. Children under the age of 2 years old and those who have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 within the last three months, and have met the requirements to end isolation, may travel without a negative test result.
Proof of a negative result using either molecular or antigen testing is sufficient to prove one’s COVID-19 negative status. The CDC holds the airlines responsible for verifying their passengers’ COVID-19 test status.
This new order is set to go into effect on Jan. 26, 2021, and expands on a previous CDC requirement that applied only to travel originating in the United Kingdom (See CDC Announces New Testing Requirement for Travelers Arriving from the UK).
Clinical laboratory directors wishing to review the CDC’s new requirement (for all airline or other aircraft passengers into the United States from any foreign country) in its entirety can do so here.
