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US reopened on 8 November 2021 (& subsequent entry restrictions for non-citizens)

Old Sep 15, 2021, 1:47 pm
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Last edit by: NewbieRunner
New thread for discussing 1-day test requirements for travellers arriving in the US by air
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/coronavirus-travel/2060730-us-require-air-travelers-provide-negative-test-within-1-day-departure.html

Entry ban from eight southern African countries starting on November 29, 2021

Most non-U.S. citizens who have been in South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique or Malaw within the prior 14 days will not be allowed into the United States.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/11/26/a-proclamation-on-suspension-of-entry-as-immigrants-and-nonimmigrants-of-certain-additional-persons-who-pose-a-risk-of-transmitting-coronavirus-disease-2019/

Entry ban by air to be lifted on November 8, 2021 - All travelers should refer to CDC for travel requirements.

3 day pre-flight testing requirement will continue (US citizens/LPR not vaccinated will have to test no earlier than 1 day prior) Children under 2 years old do not need to test.

Children under 18 are exempt from vaccination requirement
Accepted vaccines will include:
  • AstraZeneca
  • BIBP/Sinopharm
  • Covishield
  • Janssen/J&J
  • Moderna
  • Pfizer-BioNTech
  • Sinovac
Vaccination certificates must come from an official source
There is a face mask mandate when flying to/from the USA, with effectively no exemptions, and including children two and above years old
Airlines need to provide some sort of contact tracing information for potential follow-up cases

Update on U.S. travel policy requiring COVID-19 vaccination
Last Updated: October 25, 2021

As announced by the White House today, the new travel policy requiring foreign nationals traveling to the United States to demonstrate proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 will take effect November 8. The CDCs website explains that, for purposes of entry into the United States, the accepted vaccines will include FDA approved or authorized and WHO Emergency Use Listing vaccines.

COVID-19 Travel Restrictions and Exceptions - U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs
Last updated: October 25, 2021

The presidential proclamations described on this page will no longer be in effect on November 8, 2021. For additional information, please see Safely Resuming Travel by Vaccine Requirement and Rescission of Travel Restrictions on Brazil, China, India, Iran, Ireland, the Schengen Area, South Africa, and the United Kingdom (travel.state.gov).

To protect the public health, there are four presidential proclamations that suspend entry into the United States of all noncitizens who were physically present in any of 33 countries during the 14-day period preceding their entry or attempted entry into the United States. They are Presidential Proclamation 9984 (China); Presidential Proclamation 9992 (Iran); Presidential Proclamation 10143 (Schengen Area, United Kingdom, Ireland, Brazil, and South Africa); and Presidential Proclamation 10199 (India).

What we know so far is
- Confirmed to start on 8 November
- Children under 18 are exempt from the vaccine restrictions, so the varying international standards on jab ages won't be an issue here.

- Vaccines that are OK will include Pfizer, Moderna, AZ, J&J and the two Chinese vaccines.
- Some exemptions from vaccinations are potentially allowed, notably for US citizens, though my guess is airlines will be expecting to see vaccine certificates

- 3 day pre-flight testing requirement will continue, so this needs to be a documented antigen/Lateral Flow test or PCR.
- 3 days is potentially more than 72 hours, departure on a Friday afternoon means a test on Tuesday morning or thereafter.
- NHS Lateral Flows and PCRs can't be used.
- Children over 2 years old travelling with vaccinated travellers have to be tested on the same basis (3 days).
- 1 day testing for unvaccinated USA legal residents (testing on or the day before departure), including their children.

- All passengers need to sign an attestment to confirm their negative test result and also a statement to confirm full vaccination status.
- Children who are not vaccinated do not need to get vaccinated but do need to get a "viral test" 3 to 5 days after arrival in the USA
- As a result there is a separate attestion question for unvaccinated children to confirm that the viral test is arranged.

- Vaccination certificates must come from an official source. The NHS COVID Pass app and EU DCC are specifically mentioned as acceptable.
- Vaccination is counted as two weeks from dose2, or 2 weeks after the sole dose in the case of J&J.
- Antibody certification is not a replacement for the need for vaccination, at least for non USA residents.
- 14 clear days need to elapse before travel. So if jabbed on 1 October then 15 October is when you are good to go.
- Booster vaccinations are not a factor here, they don't count towards or against the primary dose process.

- There is a face mask mandate when flying to/from the USA, with effectively no exemptions, and including children two and above years old.
- Airlines need to provide some sort of contact tracing information for potential follow-up cases.
- These restrictions do not apply at the land border.

Note that a lot of interpretation onus falls on airlines. For example there is no language requirement for vaccine certificates as far as the CDC is concerned, however you can imagine Air France may be hesitant in accepting a vaccine certificate issued in the Welsh language, to take one example.

CDC link
https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2...el-System.html


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US reopened on 8 November 2021 (& subsequent entry restrictions for non-citizens)

 
Old Jan 5, 2022, 9:14 pm
  #3016  
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Originally Posted by dadio77
Hi, apologies if this is not the correct forum, but after a really hard 12 months (like a lot of people, I'm sure) I am looking to travel to the US from the UK for a few weeks in April with my wife and 8yo, taking in a couple of states (FL, TX) via internal flights and car hire and a first visit to DisneyWorld.

We are fully vaccinated, not bothered by mask wearing, and holidayed in Dubai last August so have travelled internationally during the pandemic. It's still early days Omicron-wise and I know all countries are dealing with the latest variant at different speeds etc., but I guess my simple(ish) question is, are others taking on the touristy approach to travel in the US now, or am I crazy even considering it given the record cases etc.?
To give you a slightly different view than "nobody cares about COVID anymore" - even in what some posters might call a liberal hellhole (Massachusetts), everything is open. If you're worried about Omicron (and even if vaccinated, it's perfectly reasonable to be worried about it, both because of risk to oneself not just of death but also Long COVID), you might be better off visiting a state that is taking the threat seriously like NYC or Boston or California. Indoors, mask wearing is often mandated and nearly everyone is following the medical advice and rules so you can feel as safe as can be. It is obviously colder in the northeast than in southern states right now, so it's all about what you're looking for. If you're worried about COVID, I'd recommend California over Texas or Florida for warmer destinations.

The last thing you have to consider - if you test positive IN the US, can you quarantine and delay your return by up to two weeks (best case scenario of not getting sick)? That will likely also play a factor in determing where you'd like to go.
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Last edited by Smiley90; Jan 5, 2022 at 9:32 pm
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Old Jan 5, 2022, 10:11 pm
  #3017  
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Originally Posted by Smiley90
.. state that is taking the threat seriously like NYC or Boston or California. Indoors, mask wearing is often mandated and nearly everyone is following the medical advice and rules so you can feel as safe as can be. It is obviously colder in the northeast than in southern states right now, so it's all about what you're looking for. If you're worried about COVID, I'd recommend California over Texas or Florida for warmer destinations.
...
Without getting into pros and cons I would note the end result - eg infections hospitalizations deaths are nearly identical in states from both ends of restrictions spectrum.
Whether those measures make you feel safer is your call...

Imo your biggest concerns will likely be throngs of ppl at touristy destinations expensive lodging and car rentals etc etc..
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Old Jan 5, 2022, 11:42 pm
  #3018  
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Originally Posted by casey89
Breaking records basically each day. Any insights that Biden thinking about closing borders for international travel again?
To keep Americans from spreading COVID abroad? Closing down inbound travel isn't going to make any difference in the US at this point.
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Old Jan 6, 2022, 12:11 am
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Originally Posted by Doppy
To keep Americans from spreading COVID abroad? Closing down inbound travel isn't going to make any difference in the US at this point.
Yeah obviously, but the history proven that logic is not always presented in some restrictions. Hopefully it will stay like this.
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Old Jan 6, 2022, 3:27 am
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Originally Posted by azepine00
Without getting into pros and cons I would note the end result - eg infections hospitalizations deaths are nearly identical in states from both ends of restrictions spectrum.
Whether those measures make you feel safer is your call...

Imo your biggest concerns will likely be throngs of ppl at touristy destinations expensive lodging and car rentals etc etc..
Thanks for all of the responses and I know the issue can be quite polarising, but it's all good advice - hotels seem reasonable but car hire is eye wateringly expensive! I'm not sure there is ever a time to avoid crowds at somewhere like Disney, but on the presumption that Covid is here to stay in some form, I think that is unavoidable for the forseeable.

I can work from the US/remotely if needed, we do have an office in NY so changing destination could be an option however I have travelled in the NE and the weather is a factor! We would be taking precautions to avoid testing positive mainly for travel purposes, so I have a slight concern that others aren't taking it as seriously, but I'm aware I'd be very unlucky to encounter someone deliberately trying to infect me!

In reading more of the thread it sounds like the situation in the US is similar to over here, but I do appreciate the personal experiences and opinions.
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Old Jan 6, 2022, 3:38 am
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Originally Posted by Smiley90
If you're worried about Omicron (and even if vaccinated, it's perfectly reasonable to be worried about it, both because of risk to oneself not just of death but also Long COVID), you might be better off visiting a state that is taking the threat seriously like NYC or Boston or California.
I hope you won't be confused with facts that seem to indicate that those states that take the threat seriously have the same death toll as states that don't take it seriously:

New York: 3,111 dead per million, median age 39.2
Massachusetts: 2,969 dead per million, median age 39.6
Florida: 2,912 dead per million, median age 42.5
Texas: 2,639 dead per million, median age 35.0
California: 1,949 dead per million, median age 37.0

So, FL, despite having a significantly older population than NY or MA, actually has a slightly lower death toll.
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Old Jan 6, 2022, 7:10 am
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Originally Posted by RedChili
I hope you won't be confused with facts that seem to indicate that those states that take the threat seriously have the same death toll as states that don't take it seriously:

New York: 3,111 dead per million, median age 39.2
Massachusetts: 2,969 dead per million, median age 39.6
Florida: 2,912 dead per million, median age 42.5
Texas: 2,639 dead per million, median age 35.0
California: 1,949 dead per million, median age 37.0

So, FL, despite having a significantly older population than NY or MA, actually has a slightly lower death toll.
Yup, and without destroying their economies.
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Old Jan 6, 2022, 7:10 am
  #3023  
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Originally Posted by RedChili
I hope you won't be confused with facts that seem to indicate that those states that take the threat seriously have the same death toll as states that don't take it seriously:

New York: 3,111 dead per million, median age 39.2
Massachusetts: 2,969 dead per million, median age 39.6
Florida: 2,912 dead per million, median age 42.5
Texas: 2,639 dead per million, median age 35.0
California: 1,949 dead per million, median age 37.0

So, FL, despite having a significantly older population than NY or MA, actually has a slightly lower death toll.
Without getting too much into OMNI/PR territory, but there's many reasons for that - NYC was hit very hard during the initial wave and doesn't have the luxury of warm winter weather keeping people outside.

But either way, it's up to each individual to decide where they think they'll be safer and what they're looking for in a vacation. I'm merely describing the situation in the state I live in to give the person who asked an idea of what it's like as far as their COVID-safety is concerned. This thread has a lot of minds I won't change and that wasn't the goal.
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Last edited by Smiley90; Jan 6, 2022 at 7:20 am
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Old Jan 8, 2022, 7:49 am
  #3024  
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Originally Posted by Smiley90
But either way, it's up to each individual to decide where they think they'll be safer and what they're looking for in a vacation. I'm merely describing the situation in the state I live in to give the person who asked an idea of what it's like as far as their COVID-safety is concerned. This thread has a lot of minds I won't change and that wasn't the goal.
Since vaccinations against COVID-19 got EUA in the US, Covid-19 deaths per capita are much worse in Florida than in more population dense New York and Massachusetts; and thats even as a slightly higher proportion of persons in Florida got vaccine access sooner than people in those two more dense states since Florida has a somewhat older population. But as being outside is less risky than being indoors, Florida may work out differently for infection risk; but even tourists in Florida in January often spend time indoors to eat, shop and more.
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