COVID-19: New US travel requirements take effect Nov 8 by Adelani Adepegba

Beginning on November 8, foreign air travellers to the United States will be required, with only limited exceptions, to be fully vaccinated and to provide proof of vaccination status before boarding a plane to the US. This new global travel system replaces the existing country-by-country restrictions, putting in place a consistent approach worldwide, the US has said. With the implementation of these new vaccine requirements, the US government explained that foreign national travellers who had been in one of the 33 countries with restrictions do not need to obtain national interest exceptions to travel to the US. According to a statement on Friday, titled, ‘New vaccine requirements for travel to the United States starting November 8, 2021,’ the US Centre for Disease Control has determined that for the purposes of entry, vaccines accepted will include those approved or authorised by the Food and Drugs Administration as well as vaccines with an emergency use listing from the World Health Organisation. It noted, “When it comes to testing, fully vaccinated air travellers will continue to be required to show documentation of a pre-departure negative viral test taken within three calendar days of travel to the United States before boarding. “That includes all travellers – US citizens, lawful permanent residents and foreign nationals. For example, if a vaccinated traveller is travelling to the United States on Saturday, they can test from Wednesday on.” “To further strengthen protections, unvaccinated travellers – whether US citizens, LPRs or the small number of exempted unvaccinated foreign nationals – will now need to show proof of a negative test within one calendar day of travel to the United States,” the government further said.