US to lift all travel restrictions for fully vaccinated incoming foreign nationals from Nov 8

PTI, Nov 5, 2021, 4:48 PM IST

Washington DC: The US set to lift all restrictions for fully vaccinated international travellers, including from India, from November 8 but they will have to show proof of a negative coronavirus test before boarding a flight to the country, according to an official statement.

The travel guidelines included protocols around testing. To further strengthen protections, unvaccinated travellers – whether US Citizens, lawful permanent residents (LPRs), or the small number of accepted unvaccinated foreign nationals – will now need to test within one day of departure.

And fully vaccinated travellers will continue to be required to show a pre-departure negative test taken within three days of travel to the US prior to boarding, the statement said.

Unvaccinated minors will need to test at the same time as the adults with whom they are travelling – three days with vaccinated adults and one day with unvaccinated adults, it said.

According to the statement, passengers will need to show their vaccination status, and the airlines will need to match the name and date of birth to confirm that the passenger is the same person reflected on the proof of vaccination; determine that the record was issued by an official source (e.g., public health agency, government agency) in the country where the vaccine was given and review the essential information for determining if the passenger meets CDC’s definition for fully vaccinated such as vaccine product, number of vaccine doses received, date(s) of administration, site (e.g., vaccination clinic, health care facility) of vaccination.

Airlines must deny boarding to passengers who do not meet these requirements or those who test positive for COVID-19, it said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has determined that for purposes of travel to the United States, vaccines accepted will include FDA approved or authorised and World Health Organisation (WHO) emergency use listed (EUL) vaccines. The American travel industry has been asking for President Biden to lift the ban.