No Vaccine Mandate for US Domestic Air Travel

US President Joe Biden said he doesn’t plan to make COVID-19 vaccines mandatory for domestic air travel amid the spread of the omicron variant at this time.

On 03 December, the US President said he doesn’t see a need to implement a vaccine mandate for travel within the United States, even though the new omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus prompted him to enact a travel ban on several southern African nations.

The president’s comment was made following a press briefing about the US travel updates.

The measures I have announced today are – we believe are – sufficient to deal with the proper medical precautions to deal with the spread of this variant.
President Joe Biden

He later commented about the extension of the mask mandate, which was extended last week from January 2022 until at least March 2022. The mandate applies to all public transportation throughout the United States.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki was asked why the administration didn’t go further and require vaccination or a negative test for passengers on domestic flights. She replied that “nothing is off the table.”

Testing Requirement for All International Arrivals

Amidst the fears of the new Omicron variant, the US updated its entry requirements for international arrivals.

And from this week, all inbound travellers to the United States must show proof of a negative COVID test result taken no later than 1 day prior to departure.

The travel rules apply to all arrivals coming from an international destination, regardless of vaccination status or nationality.

Starting Dec. 6: All international air passengers, regardless of vaccination status, must show a negative #COVID19 test taken no more than 1 day before #travel to the United States.

If you have questions, CDC’s Travel Assessment can help: https://t.co/59VCRJmNb2. pic.twitter.com/sGTkp1ZcFx
— CDC (@CDCgov) December 3, 2021

The updated entry guidelines, however, do not specify any travellers crossing over to the US by land or sea. For instance, fully vaccinated visitors crossing into the US from Canada by car don’t have to show a test to enter.

US Travel Ban Being Reviewed Daily

Last week, there was also a travel ban put in place for any passengers coming from these 8 countries. The ban followed a number of EU nations, the UK as well as other countries that also banned travellers coming from southern Africa.

According to a number of reports, the travel ban will be lifted soon and the US medical advisers are reviewing the travel restrictions “on a daily basis.”

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