VISITORS TO U.S. REQUIRE COVID TEST
Air travellers entering the country will need negative test from January 26
The United States on Tuesday announced all air travellers entering the country will need a negative Covid-19 test before departure, as concerns grow over more contagious coronavirus variants. The policy takes effect on January 26 and expands an existing measure targeting Britain, where the strain known as B117 has been tied to a drastic spike in cases. Ireland, which now has the world’s highest infection rate, also announced Tuesday it was extending to all arrivals testing measures that previously applied only to travelers from the UK and South Africa.
“Testing does not eliminate all risk, but when combined with a period of staying at home and everyday precautions like wearing masks and social distancing, it can make travel safer,” said Robert Redfield, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The United States remains the worst-affected country, with around 380,000 — or a fifth — of the world’s almost two million dead, despite accounting for just four percent of the global population.
Also Tuesday, Democratic members of Congress voiced fury over the actions of some of their Republican colleagues who refused to wear masks while lawmakers sheltered from a mob that rampaged through the Capitol last week.
“I am now in strict isolation, worried that I have risked my wife’s health and angry at the selfishness and arrogance of the anti-maskers,” said Brad Schneider, the third Democratic representative to test positive. Across the border in Canada, the most populous province of Ontario ordered residents to stay home as projections showed the number of cases could soon explode and overwhelm hospitals.
But there was some positive news in the European Union, which started the approval process for its third vaccine on Tuesday. The 27-nation bloc promised an “accelerated timeline” after confirming drug company AstraZeneca had applied for approval for the jab it developed with Oxford University. —