The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that the United States is moving to require that all air travelers entering the country show a negative COVID-19 test performed within one day of departure in response to concerns about the new Omicron coronavirus variant, Reuters reported.
On Nov. 30, the CDC advised U.S. travels against travel to Niger, Papua New Guinea, Poland, and Trinidad and Tobago, citing COVID-19 concerns. The CDC now lists about 80 foreign destinations as having "Level Four," its highest level of COVID-19 transmission, and discourages Americans from traveling to those destinations.
The White House banned nearly all foreign nationals who have recently been in South Africa and seven other southern African countries over concerns about the Omicron variant.
According to the World Health Organization website, "it is not yet clear whether Omicron is more transmissible (e.g., more easily spread from person to person) compared to other variants, including Delta." The level of the new variant's severity is also currently unknown.
