Air travellers to US no longer have to take virus test

TRAVELLERS flying into the United States will no longer need to provide a negative coronavirus test, the Biden administration has announced.

The move is set to come into effect for Us-bound air passengers on Sunday at midnight.

The move comes after months of lobbying against the restriction by the travel industry. The US has required incoming international air travellers to provide pre-departure negative tests since January 2021.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that the science and data show pre-departure Covid tests are no longer necessary.

The CDC will re-evaluate the policy in 90 days. The administration said it would “not hesitate to act” to reinstate the rule should new variants make officials believe it is necessary.

The number of Covid cases in the US has dropped sharply since January, though figures had started to rise again in recent weeks before plateauing.