US to require negative test for air travelers from UK
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will now require a negative COVID-19 test for all air travelers coming to the United States from the United Kingdom in the wake of news about new strains of the virus being detected in the U.K.
Everyone arriving in the U.S. must have a negative PCR or antigen test from within 72 hours of departure, according to a statement from the CDC.
"The public health authorities in the United Kingdom recently announced the discovery of a new variant of SARS-CoV-2," the CDC wrote in its announcement. "Viruses constantly change through mutation, and preliminary analysis in the U.K. suggests that this new variant may be up to 70% more transmissible than previously circulating variants."
![PHOTO: Travelers, one dressed in a Christmas outfit and all wearing face coverings, queue in the departures hall at Heathrow Airport in west London on Dec. 21, 2020, as a string of countries around the world banned travelers arriving from the U.K.](https://s.abcnews.com/images/International/heathrow-masks_hpMain_20201225-001519.jpg)
Passengers will have to provide written documentation of the negative test and airlines will be required to confirm the information, the CDC said. Airlines will have to refuse anyone without a negative test.
While the strain appears to be more transmissible, there's no evidence it is more deadly, or that the vaccines currently being rolled out won't be effective against it.
President Donald Trump, who is spending the Christmas holiday in Florida, will sign the executive order on Friday and it will go into effect on Monday.
Dozens of countries have largely banned travelers from the U.K., at least temporarily, including Canada, Mexico, Russia, China and India. The U.S. is one of a handful of countries that will require negative tests, including Greece and Spain.