The US will require travelers from the UK to present a negative COVID-19 test

Passengers traveling from the UK to the US will now need negative COVID-19 test results before they can enter the country. 

Beginning December 28, travelers from the UK will need to test negative, via PCR or Antigen test, no more than 72 hours before departing to the US. The announcement comes after public health authorities in the UK announced the discovery of a new variant of COVID-19 that is believed to be up to 70% more transmissible than previously circulating variants. That announcement of the variant caused many countries around the world to suspend flights from the UK entirely. 

According to a press release from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the new presidential order is consistent with measures taken “to increase our ability to detect and contain COVID-19 proactively and aggressively”. 

Passengers heading from the UK to US must get a viral test within the 3 days before their flight from the UK to the US departs. They must also provide written documentation of their laboratory test result (in hard copy or electronic) to the airline.  According to the CDC: “Airlines must confirm the negative test result for all passengers before they board. If a passenger chooses not to take a test, the airline must deny boarding to the passenger”.