Inbound passengers to the US will soon need to provide proof of a negative test Covid-19 test.
The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) requirement will take effect in two weeks (January 26) and applies to US citizens as well as foreign travellers.
The new measures are designed to try to prevent travellers from bringing in newer forms of the virus that scientists say can spread more easily.
International travel to the US has already been decimated by pandemic restrictions put in place last March that banned most foreigners from Europe and other areas.
The new restrictions require air passengers to get a Covid-19 test within three days of their flight to the US, and to provide written proof of the test result to the airline.
Travellers can also provide documentation that they had the infection in the past and recovered.
Airlines have been ordered to stop passengers from boarding flights if they do not have proof of a negative test.
In a statement, CDC Director Robert Redfield said: “Testing does not eliminate all risk, but when combined with a period of staying at home and everyday precautions like wearing masks and social distancing, it can make travel safer, healthier, and more responsible by reducing spread on planes, in airports, and at destinations.”
