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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 17 / Thursday, January 28, 2021 / Notices
passengers arriving from the UK to the United States. Since then, cases of the UK and RSA variants have been discovered in four Canadian provinces, including in individuals with no travel history indicating spread in Canada.
The UK variant has also been found in at least 50 countries and the RSA
variant has also been detected in at least 15 countries. The first case of the UK
variant in the United States was found in Colorado on December 29, in an individual with no known travel history. On December 30, a second case was reported in California. Since then, the UK variant strain has accounted for 144 cases in 20 U.S. states. Another new variant strain of concern initially detected in South America in March 2020 has been detected in at least 19
countries on 5 continents through late December and has mutations in the spike protein that raise concerns of increased infectivity.
While it is known and expected that viruses constantly change through mutation leading to the emergence of new variants, these new variants have emerged at a time when numbers of new cases in the United States have continued to increase at alarming rates.
Additional new virus variants are also likely to emerge as the virus continues to evolve and mutate. Accordingly, further action is needed to help mitigate the spread of these and other new virus variants into the United States.
Based on increased transmissibility and spread of these new variants of SARSCoV2, and to reduce introduction and spread of these and future SARSCoV2 variants into the United States, expanding current UK
pre-departure testing requirements to all foreign countries and U.S.-bound passengers is warranted. This approach to testing-based risk assessment has been addressed in CDC guidance and the Runway to Recovery guidance jointly issued by the Departments of Transportation, Homeland Security, and Health and Human Services.9 Testing for SARSCoV2 infection is a proactive approach and not dependent on the infecting strain. Approximately 120
countries now use testing in some form to monitor risk and control introduction and spread. With case counts and deaths due to COVID19 continuing to increase around the globe and the high proportion of infected people with asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic infections, the United States must take a dual approach to combatting the virus.
This means concurrently mitigating and 9 Runway to Recovery 1.1, December 21, 2020, available at https www.transportation.gov/
briefing-room/runway-recovery-11.

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slowing the introduction and spread of SARSCoV2 and controlling transmission within U.S. communities that are currently being overwhelmed by a surge in infections, hospitalizations, and deaths.
Pre-departure testing may detect travelers infected with SARSCoV2
before they initiate their travel. CDC
recommends viral testing and receipt of results 13 days 10 before departure for international travelers, particularly those traveling long distances or passing through transportation hubs such as airports where social distancing may be challenging. CDC modeling indicates that pre-departure testing is most effective when combined with selfmonitoring.11 Testing before departure results in the greatest reduction of transmission risk during travel when the specimen is collected close to the time of departure. Earlier testing i.e., more than 3 days before travel provides little benefit beyond what self-monitoring alone can provide.
For persons previously diagnosed with COVID19 who remain asymptomatic after recovery, CDC does not recommended retesting within 3
months after the date of symptom onset or the date of first positive viral diagnostic test if their infection was asymptomatic for the initial SARS
CoV2 infection.12 Persons who develop any symptoms of COVID19 during this time period should not travel and seek care for testing and evaluation. This guidance may be updated as additional information about people who have recovered from COVID19 becomes available.
Pre-departure testing does not eliminate all risk. However, when predeparture testing is combined with other measures such as self-monitoring for symptoms of COVID19, wearing masks, social distancing, and hand hygiene, it can make travel safer by reducing spread on conveyances, in transportation hubs, and at destinations.
For international air travelers and others with higher risk of exposure, CDC
additionally recommends a post-arrival test 35 days after arrival at destination, combined with self-monitoring and a 7day period of staying home or in a comparable location such as a hotel room to further reduce the risk of 10 https www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/

travelers/testing-air-travel.html.
11 Johansson MA, Wolford H, Paul P, et al.
Reducing travel-related SARSCoV2 transmission with layered mitigation measures: Symptom monitoring, quarantine, and testing, available at https www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/
2020.11.23.20237412v1.
12 https www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/
hcp/duration-isolation.html.

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translocating the virus into destination communities.13
As cases of COVID19 continue to rise across the globe and travel volume increases, routine pre-departure testing of all U.S.-bound aircraft passengers is needed not only to reduce introduction of the two known SARSCoV2 variants from UK and RSA, but also future variants that might be more transmissible and cause more severe illness.
Action For these reasons, I hereby determine that passengers covered by this Order are at risk of transmitting the new SARSCoV2 virus variants or other potential variants and that requiring such passengers to demonstrate either negative COVID19 test results or recovery from COVID19 after previous SARSCoV2 infection is needed as a public health measure to protect the health of fellow travelers and U.S.
communities.
1. Requirements for Airlines & Other Aircraft Operators Any airline or other aircraft operator with passengers arriving into the United States from a foreign country, for each passenger onboard the aircraft arriving into the United States, shall a. Verify that each passenger has attested to having received either a negative Qualifying Test result or to recovery from COVID19 after previous SARSCoV2 infection and clearance to travel. Airlines or other aircraft operators must retain a copy of each passenger attestation for 2 years. The attestation is attached to this order as Attachment A.
b. Confirm that each passenger aged 2
years or older has documentation of a negative Qualifying Test result or Documentation of Recovery from COVID19.
c. Not board any passenger without verifying the attestation and confirming the documentation as set forth in 1.ab.
Any airline or other aircraft operator that fails to comply with section 1, Requirement for Airlines & Other Aircraft Operators, may be subject to criminal penalties under, inter alia, 42
U.S.C. 271 and 42 CFR 71.2, in conjunction with 18 U.S.C. 3559 and 3571.
2. Requirements for Aircraft Passengers Any aircraft passenger departing from any foreign country with a destination in the United States shall a Provide an attestation to the CDC, through the airline or other aircraft 13 https www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/
travelers/after-travel-precautions.html.

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