New Delhi: Easing Covid-19 restrictions, the United States on Friday announced that it would lift its requirement for international travellers arriving by air to test negative for Covid-19 before entering the country from June 13, news agency AFP reported. Confirming the news with US media on Twitter, White House Assistant Press Secretary Kevin Munoz said that the Covid testing requirement would end this weekend in the light of strong lobbying from the travel industry.
According to the AFP report, Munoz said that US President Joe Biden's work on vaccines and treatments has been "critical" to easing the travel restrictions. He also added that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would continue to evaluate Covid data amid a recent surge in infections.
Till now, all the passengers had to show a negative Covid test taken shortly before their travel -- or proof of having recovered from the viral infection in the past 90 days -- before they boarded their flight to the country.
It is to be noted that the United States crossed the mark of one million Covid deaths last month, with President Biden acknowledging the "unrelenting" pain of the bereaved families and urging Americans to remain vigilant.
Although the country has lifted several mask mandates, US has recently seen a spike in the number of daily Covid cases, mainly due to new Omicron subvariants.
According to reports, America recorded its first Covid-related fatality on the West Coast in early February 2020.