(CNN) -
The director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is expected to sign an order today or tomorrow requiring all international air passengers to show proof. Covid-19 refusal before boarding flights to the US, a federal health official told CNN.
The order will go into effect two weeks after it is signed by CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield.
The new requirement was first reported by the
Wall Street Journal
.
The rule is expected to be similar to the one implemented last month for passengers from the UK to the US, which requires passengers to have a negative test within three days of boarding their flight.
For the UK requirement that was met last month, airlines may be subject to criminal penalties if they fail to comply, and passengers may be subject to criminal penalties if they knowingly give false or misleading information.
A group from the airline industry has expressed support for the new measure.
"[We are] writing to express our support for a proposal [by the CDC] to control the spread of Covid-19, including variants of the virus, by implementing a global program to require testing of travelers to the United States," wrote the Airlines for America group to Vice President Mike Pence on January 4.
covid-19 test