Starting September 14, the U.S. government will no longer carry out mandatory COVID-19 tests of travelers arriving from other countries, U.S. and airline officials said based on a government paper seen by Reuters.
The new directive reportedly comes from the White House, although no public advisory has yet been made. The screening protocols – which included health questionnaires and temperature checks – have been in place across 15 select airports, including John F. Kennedy airport in New York, Atlanta and Los Angeles.
The screenings have been done at the airports since January this year, when the first cases of the coronavirus started to emerge from China. Incoming international flights from high-risk nations like China, Europe, Brazil and Iran, among other destinations, have been rerouted through the 15 designated U.S. airports and prohibited most non-Americans who have traveled in those countries from coming to the U.S.
One important part of the screening process is that travelers give contact details, which is critical for contact-tracing for infections. Without such information, contacting passengers on a flight that may have had someone who has contracted the virus will be very difficult.
The report viewed by Reuters discloses that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is changing its strategy and putting more focus on other public health efforts to minimize the risk of travel-related virus infection. The document said that less than 15 people have been infected by COVID-19 out of the 675,000 passengers tested at the 15 airports.
The guideline was made as the number of COVID-19 infections soar in the U.S., and travel restrictions are implemented in almost 20 states. The new measure was also made in the wake of a report by Megan Sauer of Condé Nast Traveler that testing procedures at the select airports have been inaccurate in the last few weeks.
