ATLANTA – The United States will require British airline passengers to do a negative COVID-19 test before the flight, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced on Thursday.
The United States is the latest country to announce new travel restrictions because of a new variant of the coronavirus that is spreading in Britain and elsewhere.
UK airline passengers will need to do negative COVID-19 tests within three days of their trip and provide the results to the airline, the CDC said in a statement. The agency said the order will be signed Friday and will go into effect on Monday.
“If a passenger decides not to take the test, the airline should deny boarding to the passenger,” said the CDC in its statement.
The agency said that, due to travel restrictions in place since March, air travel from the UK to the US has already fallen by 90%.
Last weekend, Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the new variant of the coronavirus appeared to spread more easily than the previous ones and was moving rapidly across England. But Johnson emphasized that “there is no evidence to suggest that it is more lethal or causes more serious illness,” or that vaccines are less effective against it.
This week, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said that three airlines flying from London to New York – British Airways, Delta and Virgin Atlantic – have agreed to require passengers to do a COVID-19 test before boarding the plane. . United Airlines agreed on Thursday to do the same on its flights to Newark, New Jersey.
Britain has been under considerable pressure since news of the new virus variant was released. About 40 countries have imposed travel bans on Britain, leaving the island nation increasingly isolated.
France relaxed its coronavirus-related ban on trucks from Britain on Tuesday after a two-day stalemate that arrested thousands of drivers and heightened fears of food shortages at Christmas time in the UK
French authorities said delivery drivers can enter by ferry or tunnel, provided they provide evidence of a negative test for the virus.
But French restrictions were of particular concern, as Britain relies heavily on its trade links across the English Channel with the mainland for food at this time of year.
–The Associated Press