The United States has made it mandatory for all incoming passengers, including those from India, to carry a negative COVID-19 test report or a proof of recovery from the contagion amidst rising number of cases of the new Omicron variant.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has said the new protocol comes into effect from tomorrow.
Indian government officials informed Indian-American community leaders yesterday, “This amendment updates COVID-19 testing requirements for air passengers 2 years or older boarding a flight to the United States.”
As per the new amended order, effectively for flights departing to the US from a foreign country at or after 12:01 AM EST (5:01 AM GMT or 10:31 AM IST) tomorrow, passengers are required show a negative COVID-19 viral test result taken no more than 1 day before travel.
Documentation of a negative SARS-CoV-2 viral test result from specimen collected no more than one calendar day preceding the passenger’s flight to the US or documentation of having recovered from COVID-19 in the past 90 days, before they board their flight.
Officials said, “Air passengers will also be required to confirm in the form of an attestation that the information they present is true.”
The 1-day period is 1 day before the flight’s departure. The order uses a 1-day time frame instead of 24 hours to provide more flexibility to the air passenger and aircraft operator.
–NDTV–
