Starting Monday in the UK, passengers must test a negative Covid-19 within three days of boarding a flight to the United States.
“Today, President Trump is taking another step to protect the health of the American people,” the statement said.
But testing three days before a flight may not be very accomplished, according to researchers at the CDC’s Covid-19 response team – reducing the risk of spreading the virus by only 5 to 9%.
Covid-19 tests always miss a recent infection, so one can test negatively and actually get infected because they are not shedding as many viruses as can be detected.
“A lot of people miss out on testing 72 hours before a flight,” said Dr Peter Hotez, an infectious disease specialist at Baylor College College of Medicine. already in the United States.
Health officials are anxious to cut the spread UK variant, which is more easily transmitted than other coronavirus strains.
The CDC has not responded to requests for comment on this story.
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