On January 12, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued an order, effective January 26, 2021, requiring proof of a negative COVID-19 test or documentation of having recovered from COVID-19 for all air passengers arriving from a foreign country to the United States. The CDC has explained that this action will help to prevent air passengers from the Schengen Area, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, and the Federative Republic of Brazil from spreading the virus that causes COVID-19 into the United States.
Moreover, the CDC expects cooperation from those jurisdictions in implementing the testing order. As a result, the CDC reports high confidence that these jurisdictions will cooperate with the United States in the implementation of CDC’s January 12, 2021 order and that tests administered there will yield accurate results.
Accordingly, the restrictions (which had required a traveler to first quarantine in another country for at least 14 days before traveling to the U.S.) will be lifted effective January 26, 2021 for those traveling from the Schengen Area, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, and the Federative Republic of Brazil.
The 14-day quarantine restriction will remain in place for those traveling from the People’s Republic of China and the Islamic Republic of Iran.
