The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a new travel ban for anyone attempting to enter the United States, stating that travelers must submit a negative COVID-19 test one day before arrival. rice field.
“As the virus that causes COVID-19 spreads, it has new opportunities to change (mutate) and become more difficult to control,” the CDC wrote in a new order published this week.pdf). “The virus is known and expected to be altered by mutations and new variants will emerge, but the emerging Omicron variants are particularly relevant to this modification and are very important.”
Authorities streamlined the move, stating that it is unclear whether the COVID-19 Omicron variant can break the protection provided by the vaccine.
The tests approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are the only tests approved for use, officials said.
All passengers, including fully vaccinated persons, must be tested for viruses “collected at least one calendar day before the departure of the flight to meet the requirements of this amendment.” The only exceptions are those who “present a valid recovery document,” the CDC’s order said.
“The one-day time frame, shortened from the previous three-day time frame for fully vaccinated passengers, reduces the chances of getting infected with the Omicron mutant before arriving in the United States,” the CDC wrote. I am. Effective December 6th.
The new restrictions are in the midst of a global panic on the Omicron strain, which was called a variant of concern by the World Health Organization (WHO) last week. Other countries, including the European Union of 27 countries, have imposed travel bans on southern Africa where Omicron was discovered by local authorities.
Soumya Swaminathan, WHO Chief Scientist on Friday, said it was too early to determine if the COVID-19 vaccine needed to be changed, urging people not to panic about the emergence of new variants. rice field.
In an interview with Reuters, Swaminasan also said it was impossible to predict whether Omicron would become the dominant strain. Omicron gained a foothold in Asia, Africa, the Americas, the Middle East and Europe, reaching seven of nine South African states and was first identified.
“How worried should we be? The situation is different than it was a year ago, so you don’t have to panic, you need to be prepared and careful,” she said on Friday. “Delta accounts for 99% of infectious diseases worldwide. This variant must be more contagious in order to win the competition and become dominant worldwide. Possible but predictable I can not do it.”
COVID-19 is a disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.
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Jack Phillips is the latest news reporter for The Epoch Times, based in New York.