Until then, they had to be compulsorily vaccinated against Covid-19, travelers leaving for the United States will now have to present, in addition, a negative test carried out in the day preceding their departure.
Until now, the test could be carried out within three days of flight.
The measure was announced this Thursday by the White House, which, like many other countries, seeks to avoid a wave of the new variant, Omicron, after the detection of a first case on its soil on Wednesday.
The requirement for a recent negative test will be in effect from “the beginning of next week”.
It is part of a series of measures announced this Thursday across the Atlantic, intended to boost vaccination and to deal with the spread of Covid-19 during the winter.
The Biden administration will have to take up the challenge of enforcing them without further tensing an American population weary of the pandemic and less and less convinced by its health management.
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The document which includes this series of initiatives contains no spectacular announcements, and above all no new measures of a binding nature for American citizens: the American executive is banking on the strengthening of already existing provisions.
The most salient point of the measures announced is the strengthening of requirements for international travelers.
The hypothesis of a quarantine imposed on the arrivals, which had circulated in the press, is swept away this Thursday by a senior official of the White House according to whom it is not question for the moment.
Less than 60% of Americans fully immunized
Domestic flights remain exempt from these health requirements for the moment.
Inside the borders, the Biden administration is extending the obligation to wear the mask on public transport until March 18, which was due to expire on January 18.
The White House is also announcing measures to increase screening: tests carried out at home will be reimbursed by private health insurance, and the number of tests distributed free of charge will be doubled to 50 million.
But the big stake remains to develop the vaccination for Joe Biden, who had promised before his election to stem the pandemic, and to whom he was widely criticized for having proclaimed victory prematurely in early July, just before the Delta variant struck. the country.
There's still time to get your first shot, your booster shot, or to get your children vaccinated before Christmas.
Get vaccinated.
- Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) November 30, 2021
While less than 60% of Americans of all ages are fully vaccinated, the White House has to convince those who do not take the plunge, but also persuade those who are to receive a booster dose (
"booster"
) while encouraging parents to have their children vaccinated from the age of 5.
But vaccination, and more broadly all the restrictive health measures taken in the face of Covid-19, are sometimes the subject of extremely virulent criticism in the conservative camp.
A major political stake for Biden
Faced with the Omicron variant, the White House ensures that measures are taken to face "all scenarios".
"The President is committed to using all government resources to ensure that we will have prompt access to
updated
vaccines and
boosters
for US citizens, in the unlikely event that it is necessary to combat the Omicron variant," indicates its administration.
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The political stake is immense for the Democrat, with approximately one year of legislative elections of mid-term. Joe Biden, whose confidence rating is very low, fails to capitalize on the economic rebound in the United States, nor does he manage to generate excitement with gigantic investment plans. His Republican opponents have repeatedly reminded him that the coronavirus has continued to kill hundreds of Americans every day since his election.
More than 780,000 people have died of Covid-19 in the United States, according to Johns Hopkins University.
While an overwhelming majority of Americans trusted the 79-year-old Democrat to face the pandemic when he was elected, the proportion has continued to erode since the summer.
According to the Fivethirtyeight site, which aggregates polls, as of December 1, only 48% of Americans supported the Biden administration's response to the health crisis.
Before July, they were still over 60% in this case.
