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Anyone flying to the United States from the United Kingdom will have to test negative for COVID-19 within 72 hours of their flight, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Thursday. The agency cited concerns about a new variant of the coronavirus as the reason for the rule, which takes effect on Monday.
The coronavirus, like all viruses, has mutated regularly as it has spread through the population. Most mutations do not cause a virus to behave differently, but this new variant, which emerged in the UK, appears to spread more easily than other forms of the virus. It doesn’t seem to make people sicker and it doesn’t appear to be any more deadly, although researchers are still studying that question. Experts say that already licensed COVID-19 vaccines will likely continue to be effective against it.
The new variant is spreading rapidly through London and south-east England. Prime Minister Boris Johnson put the area under a strict lockdown to contain it, and dozens of countries have banned travelers from the UK.
Two US states, New York and Washington, already have travel restrictions in the UK. British Airways, Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic agreed to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s request to test travelers flying into the state. Washington is asking people traveling from the UK to self-quarantine for 14 days.
Anthony Fauci said in Good morning america earlier this week he would not recommend a total travel ban from the UK, which he called “draconian”. The tests were a more realistic step, said Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Asking travelers to get tested for COVID-19 is a more effective test than temperature and symptom checks, which don’t end up finding many sick people. Still, a test within three days of the trip won’t be a perfect network – someone could test negative the day before their trip and develop symptoms when they land.
The new variant may already be circulating in the United States, Fauci said. “When you have this amount of spread in a place like the UK, you really have to assume it’s already here.”
