This month, the United States further relaxed the restrictions on the entry of oversea tourists. According to Bloomberg News, the Biden Administration decided to cancel the requirement of providing a negative result report of nucleic acid test one day before boarding a flight to the USA.
A senior official said that this new rule took effect on the early morning of June 12 local time, but the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will reassess the necessity of the COVID-19 test requirements within 90 days. If a new virus variant appears, the previous rule may be resumed. CDC still suggests that passengers should have nucleic acid test before taking the plane, but also believes that the regulation may be relaxed with the support of the new vaccine and new treatment methods.
The provisions on nucleic acid test for entry into the United States were initially implemented by the Trump Administration in early 2021, when the CDC stipulated that from January 26, 2021, passengers entering the United States should provide a negative result of nucleic acid test within 72 hours before boarding.
From November 8, 2021, the United States officially opened its borders to fully vaccinated people. According to the regulations, all adult foreign citizens going to the United States must be fully vaccinated before boarding, except for a few exceptions. In addition, passengers are required to present the negative result of nucleic acid test 72 hours before departure and sign the letter of commitment.
Later, the Biden Administration further tightened the regulations, requiring that from December 6, 2021, passengers entering the United States should provide a negative result of nucleic acid test within 24 hours before boarding.
Compared with the United States, the United Kingdom and other European countries have acted earlier to lift all travel restrictions related to the COVID-19.
However, the White House spokesman said that when most non-U.S. citizens enter the United States, they still have to provide the COVID-19 vaccination proof.
When the U.S. government announced the relaxation of entry restrictions, the Canadian federal government also said that it would suspend mandatory random tests of inbound passengers who have completed vaccination at major airports in the country. From June 11 local time, only unvaccinated passengers need to be tested when entering Canada.
Nevertheless, the Canadian government only "suspended" this rule and will resume it from July 1.
