US will impose COVID-19 screening requirement for UK flights: CDC

The US government will require all airline passengers arriving from the United Kingdom to test negative for COVID-19 within 72 hours of departure starting Monday amid concerns about a new coronavirus variant that may be more transmissible.

Passengers arrive on a flight from London amid new travel restrictions at JFK International Airport in New York City, US. File/Reuters

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a statement late on Wednesday that all airline passengers arriving from the UK must test negative in order to fly to the United States. The decision was a turnaround after the Trump administration told US airlines on Tuesday it was not planning to require any testing for arriving UK passengers.

Reuters