The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has applauded the Joe Biden administration’s decision to allow vaccinated travelers with a negative COVID-19 test result prior to flying beginning in early November.
This was revealed by IATA in a statement released on Monday and obtained by Nairametrics.
The evolution, according to the agency, surpasses the so-called 212f restrictions, which prohibited anyone from entering the US if they had been in 33 specific countries within the previous 14 days, including the United Kingdom, Ireland, all Schengen countries, Brazil, South Africa, India, and China.
What IATA has to say about the US decision
Willie Walsh, Director General of IATA, commented, “The announcement represents a significant step forward.” Allowing entrance to the US for those who have been vaccinated will allow many people who have been barred from entering the country for the past 18 months to return.
“This is wonderful news for families and loved ones who have endured the heartbreak and loneliness of separation. It is beneficial to the millions of jobs in the United States that rely on international tourism. It will also help the economy recover by opening up some vital business travel markets.
“This declaration signifies a significant shift in COVID-19 risk management from blanket considerations at the national level to individual risk assessment. The next task will be to develop a method to manage risks for those who do not have access to immunizations.
“The data indicates to testing as a possible answer. However, governments must also speed the worldwide rollout of vaccines and agree on a global framework for travel in which testing resources are concentrated on unvaccinated travelers. We must return to a scenario in which everyone has the freedom to travel.”
What you need to know
Most countries welcome visitors from the United States, but as Covid-19 cases increase in the United States and elsewhere, some locations, particularly portions of Europe, are resuming restrictions such as pre-arrival testing, quarantine, and even travel bans.
The European Union has removed the United States from its “safe list” of non-essential travelers, making it more difficult for Americans to enter several of the EU’s 27 member countries.
When coronavirus infections in the United States fell to around 80,000 new diagnoses per week in June, the bloc designated the country as a “green country.” However, after a 12-fold surge in new cases in the United States to about a million per week in late August, the European Union advised reverting to the “red country” label.