We appreciate CDC international travel testing mandate

U.S. Travel Association Executive Vice President of Public Affairs and Policy Tori Emerson Barnes issued the following statement on the announcement that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will issue an order requiring a negative COVID-19 test before boarding an international flight to the U.S.:

“We appreciate the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s announcement of a COVID-19 testing requirement for inbound international travelers.

“A testing requirement provides yet another layer of safety for international travel, and should be accompanied by other risk-based policies—including lifting international inbound travel restrictions and dropping any post-arrival quarantine requirements.

“With an international testing requirement in place, international visitors and returning residents would be tested at much higher rates than the general public and pose a much lower risk of transmitting the disease. So it would make sense to lift international travel restrictions and quarantine requirements at the same time.

“With a risk-based, layered approach to health and safety throughout every aspect of travel, it’s possible to both protect public health and allow travel to safely resume.”