Anyone flying from the UK to the United States will have to test negative for COVID-19 72 hours before the flight, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced on Thursday. The agency cited concerns about a new variant of the coronavirus as the reason for the rule, which goes into effect on Monday.
Coronavirus, like all viruses, mutates regularly as it spreads through the population. Most mutations do not cause a virus to behave differently, but this new variant, which appeared in the UK, appears to spread more easily than other forms of the virus. It doesn’t seem to make people sicker and it doesn’t seem to be more deadly, although researchers are still studying this issue. Experts say that the COVID-19 vaccines already authorized are likely to still be effective against him.
The new variant is spreading rapidly across London and southeastern England. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has put the area under tighter control to contain it, and dozens of countries have banned travelers from the UK.
Two US states, New York and Washington, already have travel restrictions to the UK in place. British Airways, Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic agreed with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s request to test passengers flying to the state. Washington asks people traveling from the UK to be quarantined for 14 days.
Anthony Fauci said in Good Morning America earlier this week, he would not recommend the UK’s total travel ban, which he called “draconian”. The test was a more realistic measure, said Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Asking travelers to take the COVID-19 tests is a more effective screen than the temperature and symptom checks, which do not end up catching many patients. Still, a test within three days of travel will not be a perfect network: someone can test negative the day before travel and develop symptoms upon landing.
It is possible that the new variant is already circulating in the United States, said Fauci. “When you have that amount of spread inside a place like the UK, you really need to assume that you’re already here.”