Last week, President Biden announced several steps his administration will be taking to battle Covid-19 during the winter, which included updating international travel rules.
On Monday, “the United States will tighten pre-departure testing protocols by requiring all inbound international travelers to test within one day of departure globally, regardless of nationality or vaccination status,” the White House said. “This tighter testing timeline provides an added degree of public health protection as scientists continue to assess the Omicron variant.”
On the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website it explains what, exactly, will be required of passengers regarding testing before a flight. That’s where the carveout for those who have recovered recently from Covid-19 is found.
“When you travel to the United States by air, you are required to show a negative COVID-19 test result or documentation of recovery from COVID-19 before you board your flight,” the CDC states, emphasis added.
On a separate CDC page, it explains the passenger must have recovered recently—"your positive COVID-19 viral test result on a sample taken no more than 90 days before the flight’s departure from a foreign country and a letter from a licensed healthcare provider or a public health official stating that you were cleared to travel.”
Still, the U.S. is requiring all non-citizens to be fully vaccinated before entering the United States.
These rule do not apply to illegal immigrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, however.
"You advised the president about the possibility of new testing requirements for people coming into this country, does that include everybody?" Fox News’s Peter Doocy asked Dr. Anthony Fauci last week.
After Fauci said “yes,” Doocy pressed him on whether that included border crossers.
“That’s a different issue,” the chief medical adviser to President Biden replied.