-Jasmine Dyer-

Cousins!

The Biden administration has recently announced that the U.S will officially be lifting pre-departure COVID-19 testing requirements for air travelers coming to the states!

As of 12:01 AM Sunday, June 12, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will no longer require international travelers to test negative for COVID-19 within a day before boarding a flight.

The CDC determined that the government mandate previously established by the Trump administration to control the spread of coronavirus is “no longer necessary at this time,” as reported by CNN. Instead, they recommend that people still get tested before their flight, even if it’s not mandatory, to ensure the public’s safety.

However according to officials, the federal health agency could reinstate the rule if COVID numbers rise again or if a new variant appears.

( 📸: Forbes)

Roger Dow, President of the U.S. of Travel 

Association, commended the Biden administration for lifting the dated policy in stating that, “international inbound travel is vitally important to businesses and workers across the country.”

The travel industry, which strongly disapproved of the previous mandate, sees this decision as a success. For months, travel industry officials argued that the policy was outdated and pushed the Biden administration to cancel the testing requirement.

 According to CNBC, the travel mandate deprived the demand for international trips. The removal of mandatory COVID testing will increase international travel, but some countries will still be required to get tested if the CDC considers their positive test numbers too high.

Cousins, do you think the Covid testing mandate for trios out of the country should remain not?