Biden picks less strict COVID travel rules than feared, makes insurance cover rapid tests

President Biden on Thursday announced a COVID-19 “winter plan” that imposes new, but less strict than feared, international travel rules and mandates that health insurance companies pay for at-home COVID-19 rapid tests.

Air travelers to the US will have to test negative for the virus within one day of their flight, rather than within three days, but Biden opted against more draconian ideas reportedly under review amid fears about the potentially more contagious Omicron variant.

“We developed this plan and it doesn’t include shutdowns or lockdowns, but widespread vaccinations and boosters and testing a lot more,” Biden said in a speech at the National Institutes of Health in Maryland.

“We have the best tools, the best vaccines in the world, the best medicine and the best scientists in the world. We are going to fight this variant with science and speed, not chaos and confusion,” he said.