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President Biden’s administration is ending an onerous travel rule that required people entering the US — including American citizens — to present a negative COVID-19 test.
The rule was strongly opposed by airlines and by members of both political parties in Congress, who said it depressed the travel industry. Most European countries long ago ditched similar rules.
A Biden administration official said, “Today, the Administration is announcing an important update: CDC will no longer require pre-departure COVID-19 testing for U.S.-bound air travelers, effective Sunday, June 12th at 12:01 a.m. ET.”
The official said that “CDC has determined based on the science and data that this requirement is no longer necessary at this time. CDC will do a reassessment of this decision in 90 days, and as with other policies, CDC will continue to evaluate it on an ongoing basis.”
The decision ends one of the most-hated pandemic rules, which induced stress among vacationers who spent their trips dreading the possibility of testing positive overseas. It was announced one hour after the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed that annual inflation spiked to 8.6% in May — the highest level since 1981.
Americans, often asymptomatic, had to extend their foreign trips if they tested positive — sometimes finding themselves stuck in shabby government-run hotels.
The Biden administration repeatedly has been slower than other countries to rescind COVID-19 rules. For example, the US finally repealed a ban on European visitors in November after European countries allowed Americans to visit much earlier.
It’s unclear if the Biden administration will repeal other COVID-19 mandates and non-binding guidance, which can significantly influence corporate decisions.
The US Supreme Court in January blocked Biden’s attempt to impose a COVID-19 vaccine mandate on most private-sector workers, but allowed mandates on federal employees and healthcare workers.
A federal judge in April struck down a federal COVID-19 mask mandate for planes, trains and buses. But the White House said it still recommends masking on mass transit and the Justice Department appealed the decision.
The travel testing rule faced unusually bipartisan pushback, as well as strong lobbying from the travel industry.
Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) last month drafted a Nevada delegation letter to Biden saying that “[o]ur constituents who work in the travel industry tell us that the inbound testing order remains the single biggest barrier to the full recovery of the international travel system on which so many rely for their livelihoods.”
Cortez Masto’s appeal to Biden was signed by Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) and Reps. Dina Titus (D-Nev.), Mark Amodei (R-Nev.), Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) and Susie Lee (D-Nev.).
The requirement that all inbound travelers test negative was announced in January 2021 during the final days of the Trump administration. The initial version of the rule required a negative rapid or PCR test within three days of travel. The Biden administration tightened the rules to a one-day testing window before travel in December amid the Omicron variant wave.
The Biden administration warned Friday that the inbound testing rule may have to be restored if the pandemic worsens.
“If there is a need to reinstate a pre-departure testing requirement — including due to a new, concerning variant — CDC will not hesitate to act,” the official added. “We are able to take this step because of the tremendous progress we’ve made in our fight against the virus: We have made lifesaving vaccines and treatments widely available and these tools are working to prevent serious illness and death, and are effective against the prevalent variants circulating in the U.S. and around the world.”