The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a new recommendation to Americans traveling to the country earlier this week: get tested no more than three days before your trip.
As travel restrictions ease from country to country, it looks like the world is trying to catch up to two years of quarantine and social distancing. This month alone, we have seen flight prices see the biggest monthly increase in a decade. Unfortunately, flight prices aren’t the only ones on the rise. AFAR reports that, according to the New York Times‘ COVID tracker, the daily average of COVID cases in the United States earlier this week was 103,231, which is an increase of more than 50% from two weeks ago, when the daily average was 65 891. Hospitalizations are also up by 29%.
As infection rates are back on the rise, the government agency recommends travelers test for COVID-19 using a PCR test or antigen test, as close as possible departure time and no more than three days before the trip, fully vaccinated or not. Previously, the CDC only recommended testing for domestic travel for unvaccinated passengers.
The CDC is also asking travelers to test themselves after travel. According to the health authority, tests must take place if “your trip involves situations of greater risk of exposure, such as being in crowded places without wearing a mask or a well-fitting respirator”. The CDC also said that vaccinated people may not show symptoms but still have the ability to transmit the virus, so even if you feel perfectly well after a trip, you can still infect others.
Last month, the CDC asked the Justice Department to appeal a decision that struck down the federal mask mandate, which required masks on all forms of public transportation.
Janae Price is an editor at Thrillist. She’s originally from New York and loves all things cheese, K-pop, and culture. Follow her on Instagram and Twitter @janae_larie.
