US to require negative COVID-19 test from UK travellers amid new COVID variant fears

The US is the latest country to announce new travel restrictions because of a new variant of the coronavirus that is spreading in Britain.

Published: 25th December 2020 12:14 PM  |   Last Updated: 25th December 2020 01:18 PM   |  A+A A-

In this Dec. 20, 2020, file photo, passengers queue for check-in at Gatwick Airport in West Sussex, England, south of London. (Photo | AP)

In this Dec. 20, 2020, file photo, passengers queue for check-in at Gatwick Airport in West Sussex, England, south of London. (Photo | AP)

By Associated Press

ATLANTA: The US will require airline passengers from Britain to get a negative COVID-19 test before their flight, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has announced.

The US is the latest country to announce new travel restrictions because of a new variant of the coronavirus that is spreading in Britain.

Airline passengers from the United Kingdom will have to get negative COVID-19 tests within three days of their trip and provide the results to the airline, the CDC said in a statement on Thursday.

The agency said the order will be signed Friday and go into effect on Monday.

The CDC said because of travel restrictions in place since March, air travel to the US from the UK has been cut by 90%.

Last weekend, Britain's prime minister said a new variant of the coronavirus seemed to spread more easily than earlier ones and was moving rapidly through England.

Dozens of countries have since barred flights from the UK.

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