US Coronavirus: CDC will require a negative Covid-19 test for all passengers traveling from the UK to the US

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Passengers will be required to take a negative PCR or antigen test within 72 hours of boarding the UK flight to the United States. Passengers must also provide documentation of their laboratory results, either in paper or electronic format.

Airlines must confirm the test results before the flight and passengers will not be able to board if they reject a test or do not provide documentation.

The order responds to a new variant of the coronavirus that is said to have originated in the UK and is potentially more transmissible. Since the discovery of the variant, more than 40 countries have restricted travel from the UK and in some cases also travel from other countries that have documented cases with the variant.
Genetics experts worry that coronavirus vaccines may not work so well against the UK variant

“On March 14, President Trump issued a presidential proclamation to suspend the entry of foreign nationals who visited the United Kingdom in the past 14 days,” the CDC said in a statement. “This has reduced air travel from the United States from the United Kingdom by 90%. This additional testing requirement will strengthen our protection of the American public to improve their health and safety and ensure responsible international travel.”

The agency said the order will be signed on Friday and will take effect on Monday.

Genetics experts have expressed preliminary concern that Covid-19 vaccines may be less effective against this new variant. Pfizer and Moderna are testing their vaccines to see if they work against the new variant.

The UK coronavirus variant has not been identified through genetic sequencing efforts in the U.S., the CDC said Tuesday. But that may be because the U.S. surveillance system doesn’t catch on.

“It could be in the United States and maybe we still wouldn’t have detected it,” Deputy Health Admiral Brett Giroir said Monday.

CNN’s Elizabeth Cohen contributed to this report.

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