Any updates on requirement for negative Covid test to enter US?

[Jcp2]

I think they focused on air travel because denying boarding to a COVID patient by the pilot is defensible as an extension to any pilots right to refuse boarding to any passenger who may pose any risk to the flight, with the COVID being defined by the government as a risk. Because this is done by the airline outside the country, it gets around the US citizens right of return to the US at the country’s borders, hence to lack of such testing requirement for land and sea entry. It’s a bit of a constitutional run around.

 

[Joneill]

An

I speculate that they focused on air travel because that method could quickly spread a new bad strain quickly vs the other methods of travel. Via air travel, people from all over the world can be here in a matter of hours, a lot of infected people could be pumped in quickly and those people would quickly spread it all over the country within a day. So if a new bad strain develops literally anywhere in the world, it could be here in volume in short order. People would also come via the other methods but at a much slower rate with more time to react if a variant develops. I'd agree that the testing also lingers because it will be very difficult to reimpose if completely dropped given the current disaster of aligning people on public health.

And that would happen irrespective of a 24 hr advanced antigen test - one could have been exposed before the test and still not test positive or afterwards - in either case, the preflight antigen test will not prevent pasengers that are carrying a new strain from boarding and bringing it home…

 

[Lorenzoid]

The value is “absolutely nothing” if, as you said, the concern is bringing in new variants. It only takes one traveler to do that and the antigen testing will not even remotely prevent that - so what’s the value?

The US is trying to keep the number of infections, and by extension, the number of cases in which people get seriously ill (hospitalized, etc.), under control. The US no longer has a "zero covid" policy, where even one case entering the US would be unacceptable. With the goal being to simply have fewer contagious people circulating in the general population at any given time, having fewer contagious people on any given flight into the US makes sense. So there is SOME value to it. Now, if the question is whether when weighed against the hassle to travelers, that value outweighs the burden, that's a different question and not one I think this thread should veer into.

 

[Jcp2]

But is there real value if all it takes for a negative test is a piece of easily purchased paper with an attestation without verification? What is the Venn diagram overlap of travelers that are actively wanting to go to areas without COVID restrictions, practice voluntary precautions, test in good faith, and willing to accept extra time and expense in quarantine in a foreign country?

 

[uncfnp]

If they are worried about keeping infected people out, then why do they not apply the same standards to land-based crossings?

I don’t know the answer to this: Do pax on cruiseships have to test negative to enter a US port?

Answer: "The new rule, which takes effect on Monday, Dec. 6, only applies to travelers flying into the U.S. In addition to travelers arriving by ship, travelers arriving by car and other vehicles at border crossings with Canada and Mexico also will be exempt from the rule."

Talk about hypocrisy.

Some of the given reasons for air only testing is 1) logistics (can you imagine the typical scenario of testing all comers at the US/Mexican border?), 2) the social, economic, political fallout land/sea based testing would create, 3) the ease of avoiding the screening process. I am sure there are others.

 

[tridacna]

Some of the given reasons for air only testing is 1) logistics (can you imagine the typical scenario of testing all comers at the US/Mexican border?), 2) the social, economic, political fallout land/sea based test would create, 3) the ease of avoiding the screening process. I am sure there are others.

They can take tests the day before just like anyone else. Barcode generated results etc. There are simple solutions. The real answer is that this solution is accomplishing nothing. The testing is so perfunctory and the methods puerile. The methodology used by most testers is laughable. I’ve watched fellow travelers barely insert the tip of the Q-tip into their noses while testers look the other way. As long as they get their $30, they could care less.

4 of us had to attend a meeting in Canada. We flew to Buffalo then drove back and forth. No testing, no theatrics at Canada airports. System is only as good as its weakest link.

 

[Manatee Diver]

They can take tests the day before just like anyone else. Barcode generated results etc. There are simple solutions. The real answer is that this solution is accomplishing nothing. The testing is so perfunctory and the methods puerile. The methodology used by most testers is laughable. I’ve watched fellow travelers barely insert the tip of the Q-tip into their noses while testers look the other way. As long as they get their $30, they could care less.

4 of us had to attend a meeting in Canada. We flew to Buffalo then drove back and forth. No testing, no theatrics at Canada airports. System is only as good as its weakest link.

These tests are security theater 2.0, hopefully they don't last as long as the original, the TSA, feeling up grandma for 20 years now.

 

[uncfnp]

They can take tests the day before just like anyone else. Barcode generated results etc. There are simple solutions. The real answer is that this solution is accomplishing nothing. The testing is so perfunctory and the methods puerile. The methodology used by most testers is laughable. I’ve watched fellow travelers barely insert the tip of the Q-tip into their noses while testers look the other way. As long as they get their $30, they could care less.

4 of us had to attend a meeting in Canada. We flew to Buffalo then drove back and forth. No testing, no theatrics at Canada airports. System is only as good as its weakest link.

These are actual reasons from the CDC, albeit in a much simplified version.

The public testing at least in the US has become perfunctory much of the time. The self swab PCR test from Walgreen’s here was a waste of time. I don’t think the employee monitoring the testing cared how I swabbed.

Now the testing out of the US (and not self swabbed) has remained professional and performed well, at least in my limited experiences. The Dutch guy under the pop up tent in Bonaire knows what he is doing.

Interestingly the last PCR kits we received from Lapcorp were anterior nasal swabs designed to only insert 3/4 of an inch. Much less invasive. Don’t know why the change.

 

[tridacna]

These are actual reasons from the CDC, albeit in a much simplified version.

The public testing at least in the US has become perfunctory much of the time. The self swab PCR test from Walgreen’s here was a waste of time. I don’t think the employee monitoring the testing cared how I swabbed.

Now the testing out of the US (and not self swabbed) has remained professional and performed well, at least in my limited experiences. The Dutch guy under the pop up tent in Bonaire knows what he is doing.

Interestingly the last PCR kits we received from Lapcorp were anterior nasal swabs designed to only insert 3/4 of an inch. Much less invasive. Don’t know why the change.

I have had silly experiences in two countries: T&C. We had our backs to the tester. I could have stuck the q-tip in my ear. She would not have noticed or cared. Ditto in Mexico twice. West and East coast. I am as concerned as anyone else about the introduction of new variants. This haphazard method of testing is nothing more than pure theatrics.

The icing on the cake is not testing cruisers when they return to the US. Living in a "peach tree dish" for a week then disembarking test free. That is pure genius. Someone call the Gazpacho police.

 

[Dan]

I've been told by an MD friend that ALL "home tests" that have FDA approval can be teleproctored, not just the ones with all the advertising. I already knew my "free" ones could be telproctored with Azova, but in addition Observed Test for Travel - Rapid Test & Trace USA claims to teleproctor any FDA approved test, for $20.

Would this teleproctored with Azova work in Cuba?

I am preparing for my trip to Cuba (June 3-13). From reading their “Know before you go” info, the Antigen test for returning home will cost me $120 (what a ripoff).
My US credit card won’t work in Cuba. Some government related matters won’t deal with US Dollars. I have to bring some Euros for that. Some private businesses (restaurants, liveaboards, etc.) do love USD. So half of my cash is in USD & the other half is in Euro.