Washington - The Biden administration is expected to announce Friday that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will lift its requirement for travellers to test negative for Covid-19 before entering the US, according to a senior administration official, reported CNN.

The mandate that expires on Sunday at 12:01 a.m. EDT, is determined as no longer necessary by the CDC, said a senior official. The official, speaking Friday on the condition of anonymity to CNN, said that the agency would re-evaluate the need for the testing requirement every 90 days and that it could be reinstated if a troubling new variant emerges.

The testing requirement was put in place by the Biden administration last year, as it moved away from restrictions that banned nonessential travel from several dozen countries, including most of Europe, China, Brazil, South Africa, India and Iran, and instead focuses on classifying individuals by the risk they pose to others. It came in conjunction with a requirement that foreign, non-immigrant adults traveling to the United States need to be fully vaccinated, with only limited exceptions.

The travel industry, and some scientific experts, said the policy had been out of date for months.

Lawmakers, including Democrats, had also advocated for lifting the requirement in recent weeks.

Airlines for America said its members, including American Airlines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines -- had believed lifting the requirements would lead more foreigners to visit the US.

The trade association told CNN that in mid-May, domestic travel came within 7 percentage points of pre-pandemic levels, but international travel lagged at 14% below normal.

The lifting of the requirement comes six weeks after a federal judge ended the CDC’s mask requirement for mass transit, including trains, planes, buses and transit hubs, saying the agency exceeded its authority. The Biden administration is appealing that ruling, saying it aims to protect the CDC’s ability to respond to future health emergencies.

The official said the CDC will continue to recommend COVID-19 testing prior to air travel of any kind as a safety precaution.
-CNN/AP