The Future Of Health The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the usual course of life in all aspects. Today, an ordinary trip with friends or a honeymoon journey is accompanied by many restrictions. All this complicates travel and sometimes it is very difficult to understand all the nuances because the information is constantly changing.
In this article, we will tell you what rules should be followed if you are planning a trip, what exemptions are provided for those entering the country, and what you need to know about the recommendations of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Information for Returning Home
From the beginning of the pandemic until December 2021, all travelers who returned by international flights were required to provide a negative test for coronavirus. At the same time, the validity period of the test was 24 hours, which means it had to be passed a day before departure. An alternative option was to provide a certificate of the passed disease.
However, now, these measures have been completely canceled and no tests and certificates need to be shown when entering the United States, which makes life much easier for all travelers.
Personal Protective Equipment
The need to wear masks also raises many questions. In February 2021, a law was passed on the mandatory use of masks on trains, planes, taxis, and buses and in the corresponding crowded areas, namely, airports, train and bus stations.
A year later, the interpretations have changed. The Florida Supreme Court ruled in April 2022 that wearing masks is illegal and shortly after that, large airlines such as Delta, American Airlines, and United also revised their policies regarding wearing masks. At the moment, the CDC retains recommendations, however, there is no such decree at the legislative level.
Status of Contagion
The biggest transport where a lot of people congregate is a cruise liner. Most ships report cases of infection on board and this gives the CDC the opportunity to compile a special scale of contagion on a cruise liner.
Here’s what it looks like:
- The green status is assigned to the liner with zero cases of infection.
- Yellow status if the total number of infected (together with staff and passengers) is less than 0.3%
- Orange if more than 0.3% of the number of passengers and crew are infected.
- Red status, if more than 0.3% of people are infected, they are in the status of active carriers of infection, and there are not enough medical resources on board.
- Gray status, if the liner operates a route under a foreign flag and its recommendations to counter COVID-19 may differ from the CDC protocol.
Moreover, before traveling on a liner, you can get acquainted with the vaccination status to assess the risks. There is a high standard of vaccination (more than 95% of crew members and more than 90% of passengers are vaccinated) and insufficient vaccination when the numbers are below 90% and 95% respectively.