By VINCENT IKUOMOLA, Abuja

The United States(US) has announced new COVID-19 travelling rules.

It said air travellers entering America would have to to be fully vaccinated and provide proof of vaccination status before boarding.

The new global travel system takes effect from November 8, 2021, replacing the existing country-by-country restrictions, putting in place a consistent approach worldwide.

Under the new rules, the US government do not expect foreign national travellers who had been in one of the 33 countries with restrictions to obtain national interest exceptions to travel to the US.

According to a statement titled: ‘New vaccine requirements for travel to the United States starting November 8, 2021,’ the US Centre for Disease Control said for the purposes of entry, vaccines accepted will include those approved or authorised by the Food and Drugs Administration as well as vaccines with an emergency use listing from the World Health Organisation.

The statement reads:

“Beginning on November 8, foreign national air travelers to the United States will be required – with only limited exceptions– to be fully vaccinated and to provide proof of vaccination status prior to boarding an airplane to fly to the United States.

“This new global travel system replaces the existing country-by-country restrictions, putting in place a consistent approach worldwide.

“With the implementation of these new vaccine requirements, foreign national travelers who have been in one of the 33 countries with restrictions do not need to obtain national interest exceptions in order to travel to the United States.

“The CDC has determined that for the purposes of entry into the United States, vaccines accepted will include those FDA approved or authorized, as well as vaccines with an emergency use listing (EUL) from the World Health Organization (WHO).

“When it comes to testing, fully vaccinated air travelers will continue to be required to show documentation of a pre-departure negative viral test taken within three calendar days of travel to the United States before boarding.

“That includes all travelers – U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents (LPRs), and foreign nationals. For example, if a vaccinated traveler is traveling to the United States on Saturday, they can test from Wednesday on.

“To further strengthen protections, unvaccinated travelers – whether U.S. citizens, LPRs, or the small number of excepted unvaccinated foreign nationals – will now need to show proof of a negative test within one calendar day of travel to the United States.” (The Nation)

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