US Ends COVID-19 Testing Requirement For International Visitors

The Biden administration is reportedly set to announce Friday that the country is lifting its COVID-19 testing requirement for travelers heading to the U.S.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ultimately makes the decision to maintain or lift the requirement on U.S.-bound air travelers to test negative for COVID-19 before being allowed into the country. Senior administration officials told CNN that the CDC is expected to lift the restrictions at midnight on Sunday, and will reassess the decision in 90 days. Several other outlets also reported the U.S. is set to remove the testing rule.

Airlines have been lobbying the Biden administration to lift the testing requirements, blaming them for depressing ticket sales, according to Bloomberg. The travel industry and other scientific experts have said the policy has been out of date for months, and both Republicans and some Democrats have called for it to be dropped.