The U.S. government is set to end enhanced screening of some international passengers for COVID-19 and drop requirements that travelers coming from the targeted countries arrive at 15 designated U.S. airports, according to U.S. and airline officials and a government document seen by Reuters.
FILE PHOTO: People walk around the terminal at the John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, U.S., March 9, 2020. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo The changes are set to take effect as early as Monday, according to the draft rollout plan seen by Reuters, but the move could still be delayed, U.
S. officials said. The administration in February imposed enhanced screening requirements on travelers who had been in China, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Iran and the Schengen region of Europe, and barred most non-U.S. citizens who have been in those locations from coming to the United States. The document seen by Reuters says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “is shifting its strategy and prioritizing other public health measures to reduce the risk of travel-related disease transmission.” It said that of 675,000 passengers screened at the 15 airports, “fewer than 15 have been identified as having COID-19.”The “current entry strategy for international arrivals only covers a small portion of the traveling public, requires significant resources and is not sustainable as travel volumes increase,” document said. Those travelers, who numbered around 6,750 a day as of late August, undergo visual observations, temperature checks and complete traveler declarations. Anyone showing signs of illness or possible exposure is referred for public health assessments.Last month, Reuters reported that the Trump administration’s efforts to require airlines to collect contact tracing information from U.S.-bound international passengers had stalled, citing five people briefed on the matter, and that such a mandate is unlikely this year. Major airlines and administration officials held talks for months over a long-standing effort by the CDC to mandate the collection and reporting of tracing information from passengers arriving in the United States from foreign destinations. The administration also considered requiring temperature checks for all U.S. air travelers and facial coverings at U.S. airports, but opted not to adopt either mandate.
Please follow us on Google to support us United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
How To Clean Your N95 Mask Or Face Covering With Covid-19 CoronavirusFace coverings and masks that can serve as filters should be handled differently.
Read more »
AstraZeneca puts leading COVID-19 vaccine trial on hold over safety concernAstraZeneca Plc on Tuesday said it has paused global trials, including large late-stage trials, of its experimental coronavirus vaccine because of an unexplained illness in a study participant.
Read more »
Senate expected to vote on COVID-19 relief bill this weekThe slimmed-down proposal includes $105 billion for schools and a two-year tax credit for school choice, as well as $29 billion for vaccines and $16 billion for testing. It does not include another round of direct payment checks to Americans.
Read more »
AstraZeneca suspends leading COVID-19 vaccine trials after a participant's illnessAstraZeneca Plc said it has paused global trials, including large late-stage trials, of its experimental coronavirus vaccine due to an unexplained illness in a study participant.
Read more »
Greece's Moria refugee camp, holding 12,500, engulfed in flames amid COVID-19 unrest'Not much has been left standing,' MSF Head of Mission in Greece Stephan Oberreit told Newsweek.
Read more »
AstraZeneca Pauses COVID-19 Vaccine Trial Due To Volunteer's IllnessNPR's Noel King talks to Paul Offit of the Vaccine Education Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, about the coronavirus vaccine trial developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford.
Read more »