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Airline passengers heading to the US from the UK must test negative for COVID-19 before departure, the Centers for Disease Control said Thursday night. This follows the discovery of a new variant of the coronavirus that may be up to 70% more transmissible and is spreading in Britain and elsewhere.
UK airline passengers will be required to obtain negative COVID-19 tests within three days of their trip and provide the results to the airline, the CDC said in a statement. If a passenger chooses not to take an exam, the airline must deny them boarding. The agency said the order will be signed today, Dec. 25, and will take effect on Monday.
Last weekend, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that while the new variant of the virus appeared to spread more easily, he stressed that “there is no evidence to suggest that it is more lethal or causes a more serious disease”, or that vaccines will be less effective against it. .
This week, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo struck an unusual deal with three airlines flying from London to New York – Delta, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic – who agreed to test passengers flying from the UK to New York. . On Thursday, United Airlines agreed to do the same with its flights to Newark, NJ.
More than 40 countries have restricted travel from the UK, and in some cases they have also traveled from other countries that have documented cases with the variant since it was discovered.
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