COVID-19 testing requirement lifted for international air travelers entering US

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Sunday marked the first day travelers entering the United States didn’t have to test for COVID-19.

The CDC announced Friday it would lift the requirement for travelers to have a negative test.

As a result, there could be a lot more people coming into the country, but the price of travel right now could also have an impact.

Some people News4JAX spoke with Sunday said COVID-19 concerns haven’t really come up in their travel plans.

For months the travel industry has been pushing the CDC to drop the requirement, saying testing was no longer necessary based on data.

Some people said keeping a testing requirement in place would hurt the economy.

Speaking of the economy, most of the people News4JAX spoke with said they thought about the price of their flights before they thought about COVID-19.

“We were just talking in the car about prices going up lately. A year ago it was just so great. But I feel pretty safe about traveling but now prices are getting pretty frustrating,” said one traveler at Jacksonville International Airport.

The CDC said it will reassess the need for testing if the latest science and state of the pandemic changes.


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A Florida-born, Emmy Award winning journalist and proud NC A&T SU grad

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