New travel restrictions may require rapid PCR test within 24 hours of departure.

[millefleur 5,045]

3 minutes ago, Ben & Katy said:

We just crossed back into Arizona by land from Mexico last week and the agents never asked for proof of negative test/or vaccine.  We took our vaccine cards just in case.  This was all with the expired Green Card/18 month extension letter.  I am not sure if airports and land ports are doing different things or the same things.  They were supposed to ask tourists crossing from Mexico for the proof of vaccine but so far the agents are not enforcing it for the Mexican tourists.

I've heard it's not being enforced for any tourists coming from Mexico, this is why Russians (who have no access to any FDA approved vaccine) are considering land crossings via Mexico into the US. Rather strange, I wonder how long it will last.

[Ben & Katy 168]

10 minutes ago, millefleur said:

I've heard it's not being enforced for any tourists coming from Mexico, this is why Russians (who have no access to any FDA approved vaccine) are considering land crossings via Mexico into the US. Rather strange, I wonder how long it will last.

WOW!

[Crazy Cat 41,431]

I haven't seen any official word yet.......I'm waiting on pins and needles...LOL

[flicks1998 1,044]

41 minutes ago, Crazy Cat said:

I haven't seen any official word yet.......I'm waiting on pins and needles...LOL

There are news sources now reporting the 1 day testing requirement.  What people get wrong in this thread though is from the CDC perspective, 1 day does not equal 24 hours.  This is explained in the CDC FAQ section on international travel.  For example, if you do a test at 8am Tuesday, that test is valid until 1159pm on Wednesday.  Also, its time of departure not time of arrival.  Ive been the sole person in a 95,000 employee organization tracking travel restrictions and moving all of our international travelers for the past 20 months so these details are ingrained in my head.  Also its a Covid test which means both PCR and rapid antigen tests are OK.  The news just came out a few hours ago but these are the preliminary details.  

 

Also, labs generally put the date and time as when the test was taken and not when the results were received.  Some labs will put both times.

 

Also, it appears the new testing requirements may not apply for border crossings.  All this information is very new and subject to slightly change.

 

If people need a fast Covid test, just check the airport website that you would fly in or out.  Many now offer antigen and PCR tests on site with some having 15-30 minute turnarounds..............for a fee of course.  

 

Also, just to add, if you ever read any sources quoting 24 hours or 72 hours, they are wrong.  Even now some sources are mentioning that the US has a 1 day Covid test requirement which was lowered from the 72 hours.  The US has never had a 72 hour testing requirement, it was always a 3 day requirement and the same rules applied to my example above for 1 day testing.

Edited December 2, 2021 by flicks1998

[mam521 1,990]

This all ridiculous and out of hand.  Yes, there are going to be mutations of the spike protein.  But we don't even find the mutations until they've already happened (duh) and someone is looking for them (also duh).  Meanwhile, people carrying the mutation have already travelled and spread it before it's discovered.  Lock downs are an exercise in futility.  

 

I've given up on international travel, too.  I really wanted to go home and see my grandparents before they age out, but this is too much.  

[Adventine 3,189]

@flicks1998 I understood the previous CDC guidance that 1 day =/= 24 hours. I planned my last COVID test using the CDC guidelines found here.

 

My concern is that the new rules coming out soon may become much stricter and the requirement does become a PCR test done 1 day (=24 hours) for all travellers regardless of vaccination status. The airport we will be using does have an on-site testing facility... but it's annoying to have to anticipate redoing our travel plans just to get a test on time. Part of why I quit my previous job handling international travel too

 

Nothing to do until the CDC website is updated with the latest restrictions, I guess.

Edited December 2, 2021 by Adventine

[flicks1998 1,044]

2 minutes ago, Adventine said:

@flicks1998 I understood the previous CDC guidance that 1 day =/= 24 hours. I planned my last COVID test using the CDC guidelines found here.

 

My concern is that the new rules coming out soon may become much stricter and the requirement does become a PCR test done 1 day (=24 hours) for all travellers regardless of vaccination status.

 

Nothing to do until the CDC website is updated with the latest restrictions, I guess.

Hello Adventine,  its never been that way.  Since the beginning of the pandemic.  That link you quoted is the correct link.  Scroll down to the FAQ section on test timing.

 

The 1-day period is 1 day before the flight’s departure and the 3-day period is the 3 days before the flight’s departure. The Order uses 1-day and 3-day time frames instead of 24 hours and 72 hours to provide more flexibility to the air passenger and aircraft operator. By using a 1-day and 3-day window, test acceptability does not depend on the time of the flight or the time of day that the test sample was taken.

For example, if you are fully vaccinated and your flight is at 1pm on a Friday, you could board with a negative test that was taken any time on the prior Tuesday or after. If you are not fully vaccinated and your flight is at 1pm on a Friday, you could board with a negative test that was taken any time on the prior Thursday.

Edited December 2, 2021 by flicks1998

[Adventine 3,189]

@flicks1998 Thanks for the reassurance. I only started closely tracking US travel restrictions in 2021 so I wasn't sure what the 2020 restrictions looked like. I hope you're right that the CDC definition of days stays the same! 

[mam521 1,990]

10 minutes ago, flicks1998 said:

Hello Adventine,  its never been that way.  Since the beginning of the pandemic.  That link you quoted is the correct link.  Scroll down to the FAQ section on test timing.

 

The 1-day period is 1 day before the flight’s departure and the 3-day period is the 3 days before the flight’s departure. The Order uses 1-day and 3-day time frames instead of 24 hours and 72 hours to provide more flexibility to the air passenger and aircraft operator. By using a 1-day and 3-day window, test acceptability does not depend on the time of the flight or the time of day that the test sample was taken.

For example, if you are fully vaccinated and your flight is at 1pm on a Friday, you could board with a negative test that was taken any time on the prior Tuesday or after. If you are not fully vaccinated and your flight is at 1pm on a Friday, you could board with a negative test that was taken any time on the prior Thursday.

The only problem with this and it has caught travelers out is, if you have a connecting flight and your covid test expires, you will not be permitted to jump on the next flight without a new, negative covid test. This can be challenging with unexpected reroutings or missed flights.  

[flicks1998 1,044]

8 minutes ago, Adventine said:

@flicks1998 Thanks for the reassurance. I only started closely tracking US travel restrictions in 2021 so I wasn't sure what the 2020 restrictions looked like. I hope you're right that the CDC definition of days stays the same! 

Yes, the preliminary information I have seen will stay the same as to how the time is counted.  The people Im helping move are almost all doctors and other medical personnel who work closely with the CDC.  In our medical/hospital network, we cant get PCR results back before 48 hours, the only we can do it is if we put in a special requests to cut in line from others.  You are right though that anything could happen and anything could change at any moment, but I can tell you for sure, if the US is to go to a 24 hour period and only PCR testing, we will be in deep trouble as an organization. 

 

The problem I have seen is the media and news outlets, casually use 1 day and 24 hours or 3 days and 72 hours as if they are the same thing which they arent.  Most countries use a hour system to count their Covid testing requirements, whereas the US is one of very few countries, if not the only one that uses days.

 

If you are flying to Costa Rica next week, it looks like the San Jose airport has onsite testing as well.

[flicks1998 1,044]

2 minutes ago, mam521 said:

The only problem with this and it has caught travelers out is, if you have a connecting flight and your covid test expires, you will not be permitted to jump on the next flight without a new, negative covid test. This can be challenging with unexpected reroutings or missed flights.  

Yes this is correct.  We have run into this issue with some of our travelers who had certain legs of their flights cancelled. 

 

Also, in the past when the requirements were 3 days, we would have employees test in Italy, fly to Ireland and then use the test to enter the US which has been accepted by the airline.  However, commercial airlines can be very inconsistent in how they apply the rules and since they can be penalized financially, they tend to err on the side of caution.  A few weeks ago we have an employee do a Covid test in Nur Sultan, used that Covid test to fly to Dubai, he took a car to Abu Dhabi to catch his flight the next day to the US and the airline denied his test although it was still within the 3 days.  He had to test at the airport again.  We also have travelers fly on a corporate jet and all of these rules are even more loosely enforced.  Many times our travelers are never even asked to show test results either in the destination country or getting on the flight back to the US.  Honestly, the travel rules are all over the place and dont really make much sense.  Italy has a testing exemption for business travelers who stay less than 120 hours.   What sense that makes I have no idea.

[mam521 1,990]

@flicks1998 all I hear is circus music in my head when I am exhausted thinking about all of this.  It's silliness! 

[flicks1998 1,044]

1 hour ago, Adventine said:

@flicks1998 Thanks for the reassurance. I only started closely tracking US travel restrictions in 2021 so I wasn't sure what the 2020 restrictions looked like. I hope you're right that the CDC definition of days stays the same! 

I was able to find the video of the speech by Biden today and what he mentioned in there was the requirements will change from 3 days to 1 day.  There were no further details as to testing type, etc.  However, I have a very strong feeling that both PCR and antigen tests will be accepted, but will need to wait for more details.  

[MarJhi 930]

21 hours ago, Kai G. Llewellyn said:

The fun self-quarantine in Canada was the Government periodically calling your cellphone to confirm you're at home. Seems that the Canadian feds haven't woken up to the possibility that a cellphone can be carried around. xD

That's the point though. In Canada you dont just take your photo with your camera, you take your photo with a special app that also tags your geo-location on the photo, so it has a GPS element that lets them know where you are and that it's actually you.  

 

If you take a photo of yourself and you are not at home, they will know because of the GPS data

 

If you leave your phone at home where the GPS data is correct, you risk when you leave the house that that will just happen to be the time they require you to check in.

[Kai G. Llewellyn 832]

1 minute ago, MarJhi said:

That's the point though. In Canada you dont just take your photo with your camera, you take your photo with a special app that also tags your geo-location on the photo, so it has a GPS element that lets them know where you are and that it's actually you.  

 

If you take a photo of yourself and you are not at home, they will know because of the GPS data

 

If you leave your phone at home where the GPS data is correct, you risk when you leave the house that that will just happen to be the time they require you to check in.

Ahh I guess it's gotten more stringent. My husband was under self-isolation in Canada in August 2020 and they just called him..no deal with the app or anything.