LONDON (CNN) – Passengers arriving in the United States from the United Kingdom must be tested negative for COVID-19 before departure, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Thursday night.
Passengers must have a PCR or negative antigen test within 72 hours after boarding their flight from the UK to the USA. Passengers must also provide documentation of their laboratory results, in hard copy or electronically.
Airlines are required to confirm test results prior to flight, and passengers will not be allowed to board if they refuse the test or fail to provide documentation.
The request is in response 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, travel from other countries that documented cases with the variant.
“On March 14, President Trump issued a Presidential Proclamation to suspend the entry of foreigners who have visited the UK for the past 14 days,” said the CDC in a statement. “This has reduced air travel from the UK to the US by about 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 Friday and will go into effect on Monday.
Genetics experts have expressed preliminary concerns 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 United States, the CDC said on Tuesday. But it may be because the US surveillance system is not picking up.
“It could be in the United States, and we may not have detected it yet,” Deputy Secretary of Health Admiral Brett Giroir said on Monday.
The-CNN-Wire ™ and © 2020 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner company. All rights reserved.