The Biden administration will drop pre-departure COVID-19 testing requirements for air travellers effective Sunday at 12:01 a.m. ET after heavy lobbying from airlines and the travel industry, the White House has confirmed to Global News.
The Biden administration will announce today the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will no longer require pre-departure COVID-19 testing for travellers coming to the United States after determining it was no longer necessary “based on the science and data that this requirement is no longer necessary at this time,” the White House said in a statement to Global News.
The agency will reassess its decision in 90 days and will continue to evaluate it on an ongoing basis. If there is a need to reinstate this measure, such as for a concerning new variant, CDC will not hesitate to act, the statement says.
“We are able to take this step because of the tremendous progress we’ve made in our fight against the virus,” the White House said in its statement.
“We’re committed to continuing to ensure the safety of Americans here at home and international air travel.”
Even as this mandatory requirement lifts this weekend, the CDC continues to recommend COVID-19 testing prior to air travel of any kind.
The pre-departure testing requirement for international travellers arriving into the U.S. has been in place since January 2021.
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