After a tumultuous year, the White House has confirmed fully vaccinated travelers from the UK, EU, and other foreign countries will be able to fly into America, starting in November! The move announced on Monday marks an end of a travel ban that’s been in place since March last year under President Donald Trump’s presidency.

What you should know:

Travelers need proof of vaccination before boarding their plane, as well as one negative COVID-19 test taken within three days after arrival. In addition to requiring vaccination, the administration said it was taking other steps in three areas: testing, contact tracing, and masking. Fully vaccinated foreign nationals or American citizens returning from abroad will also need a pre-departure negative COVID-19 test within 3 days of their flight as well as an authorized PCR/ rapid anti-viral test at least five days after arrival. The test is required to be authorized for use in the country where it’s administered.

Fully vaccinated passengers will not be subject to any quarantine mandates upon arrival in the US. However, unvaccinated Americans returning from abroad are being subjected to stricter testing requirements including an initial screening within one day of departure as well as an additional test upon return.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is planning to issue a contact tracing order requiring airlines to collect information from U.S.-bound travelers, including a phone number and email address so they can alert you of potential exposure if it were found on one of these flights. The airline will be required to keep this data for at least 30 days.

The travel and hospitality industry has been waiting for this and it will be a relief to them!

Airline companies, hotels, as well as the hospitality industry all voiced their support of allowing vaccinated tourists from abroad back into the United States.

According to Visit Florida, in 2019 the state of Florida welcomed approximately 14 million international tourists. The Orlando tourism industry relies heavily on international visitors during the summer months. Millions of foreign travelers visit the area theme parks each year, and it has become a popular destination for them as they have discovered all that “The City Beautiful” can offer!

Visit Florida Research

The lifting of the travel ban is such welcome news for many people who have been waiting for a long two years. The tourism industry will also greatly benefit from this decision as more visitors are expected to flood to Orlando near the end of 2021. Virgin Atlantic’s website actually crashed yesterday for a brief period as Brits scrambled to book flights to the US for the first time in more than a year.

This is also long-awaited news for thousands of foreign nationals with families in America who have been kept apart for almost two years. A major part of this pandemic was how it divided our society, but now we can finally all reunite again!

To keep informed of updates and regulations, visit the U.S. CDC (Centers for Disease Control Prevention) website.

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