The United States will no longer require travelers to take a negative COVID-19 test before entering the country.
The change will take effect on Sunday at midnight for all passengers arriving by plane.
Kevin Munoz, the White House’s deputy press secretary, tweeted that Joe Biden’s work on vaccines and treatments was “critical” to development.
He said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will monitor “based on science and the context of circulating variants,” but for now it is considered that testing was no longer necessary.
Most countries, including the United Kingdom, have already abandoned testing requirements to try to return international travel to pre-COVID levels.
Pre-vaccinated arrivals to the United States could show a negative test result within three days of the trip, and unvaccinated travelers had to take the test within the day of the trip.
But when the Omicron variant swept the United States in November, Biden tightened the rules to force all non-American adults to test in one day.
The abandonment of “load” tests will boost the travel industry
U.S. travel industry leaders have called on the government to remove the test requirements for months, alleging that it is discouraging people from booking international travel.
“I am pleased that the CDC has suspended the costly coronavirus testing requirement for international travelers, and I will continue to do my utmost to support the strong recovery of our hospitality industry,” the Nevada senator said. Cortez Masto, in a statement.
Read more: COVID infections in the UK rise for the first time in two months
It comes six weeks after a federal judge lifted the CDC’s requirement to wear masks on all trains, planes, buses and public transportation cores.
The Biden administration is challenging the ruling, saying it would help better manage future health emergencies.