United States President Joe Biden speaks about the Covid-19 vaccine syringes administered in the United States in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, DC, February 25, 2021.
Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images
Biden’s government is tightening travel rules in and within the United States, requiring all arriving international passengers to test for Covid within 24 hours of departure, and extending their mask requirement on all domestic flights and public transport until March 18.
The changes were announced on Thursday as part of a broader plan to strengthen national tools in the fight against the virus as the world enters its third year of the pandemic.
The plan is also the latest move by the Biden administration to contain the spread of the new, highly mutated omicron variant of the coronavirus, which was first reported to the WHO a week ago. At least 23 countries have so far identified omicron cases, and that number is expected to rise in the coming days and weeks, the WHO said on Wednesday.
The US joined that list after confirming its first case of the variant in Northern California on Wednesday.
The tightened pre-departure testing protocols will apply to all arriving international travelers regardless of vaccination status and will begin next week, senior administration officials told reporters during a press briefing late Wednesday. Previously, the US required proof of a negative Covid test, which was carried out within 72 hours of departure, although last month this was tightened to only vaccinated travelers. Unvaccinated travelers had to have a negative Covid test within one day of departure.
International travelers arrive from the Dominican Republic, as the United States is on the 8th.
Brian Snyder | Reuters
“Our doctors believe tightening pre-departure testing requirements will help capture more cases, potential cases from people who may be positive and who are within the country,” said a senior administration official. “And now is the right time for it. And we can implement it very quickly.”
The mask mandate, which was originally due to expire in January, requires masking on buses, trains, airplanes and transportation hubs such as indoor bus terminals and airports. The fines will be doubled from their original level for failure to meet the requirement, starting at $ 500 and going up to $ 3,000 for repeat offenders.
Vaccination mandates
The Biden government’s new plan also calls on companies to “move swiftly” by requiring workers to be vaccinated or tested weekly. Such protocols are “particularly important” in view of the new omicron variant, it says in the plan.
People wait at a walk-in vaccination site in Washington, DC on November 29, 2021.
Jim Watson | AFP | Getty Images
“We urge companies to step forward and do the right thing to protect our workers and our communities – to introduce some kind of vaccination or workplace testing requirements,” the senior administrative official said during the call.
The administration had given companies with 100 or more employees until Jan. 4 to ensure their employees are either vaccinated against Covid-19 or submit a negative test weekly before entering the workplace. Even unvaccinated employees should wear masks indoors at work from December 5th.
However, the Occupational Health and Safety Agency suspended enforcement and enforcement of the requirements earlier this month after the U.S. 5th District Court of Appeals suspended its pending review of the policy.
More than two dozen lawsuits have been filed to overturn the Biden policy. However, the unions are urging the courts to expand the requirements to cover smaller businesses and protect more workers.
Home Covid Tests
The Biden administration’s Winter Covid plan also includes more free home tests.
More than 150 million Americans with private insurance will be reimbursed for their home tests, according to the plan. People without private insurance can access tests at home through community sites such as health centers and rural clinics.
The plan also aims to strengthen public outreach to get more people vaccinated, ensure the equitable distribution of Covid-19 treatments to vulnerable populations, and deploy more than 60 rapid-response teams to states to help fight the virus .
Abbott and Quidel’s COVID-19 testing at home is shown in this photo illustration on September 14, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois.
Scott Olson | Getty Images
“While this new variant is a cause for concern, it is not a cause for panic,” said the senior administrator. “We have the tools we need to counter this variant and move forward in our fight against the virus.”
Last week, President Joe Biden issued precautionary air travel restrictions to South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and Malawi. How long the bans that came into force on Monday will remain in place, he did not make.
These restrictions came into effect three weeks after the US lifted and replaced a blanket ban on visitors from more than 30 countries, including the UK, India, Brazil and South Africa, with vaccination requirements for tourists. Other countries introduced new travel restrictions last week, causing airlines and other travel supplies to collapse.
The president also said Monday that his administration is working with vaccine makers Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson to develop contingency plans for additional vaccines or boosters tailored to protect against the new variant.
He instructs the US Food and Drug Administration and the CDC to use “the fastest, no-compromise method available” to approve such potential vaccines.
The current Covid-19 vaccines on the market are believed to offer some protection against Omicron, Biden said Monday, adding that booster vaccinations “greatly enhance that protection.”
On Wednesday, the Chief Medical Officer of the White House, Dr. Anthony Fauci, states that the variant’s profile suggests that its mutations could reduce the effectiveness of the current vaccines. However, more data is still needed, he added.
Omicron has more than 30 mutations in the spike protein alone. According to the WHO, some of the mutations are associated with higher transmission and reduced antibody protection.
– CNBC’s Spencer Kimball and Leslie Josephs contributed to this report.
