U.S. Now Requires All U.K. Travelers To Have A Negative Coronavirus Test

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a new coronavirus testing mandate for travelers coming from the U.K. with the goal of blocking the spread of a new virus variant that originated in England.

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Thursday that all travelers coming from the United Kingdom must present a negative coronavirus test no more than 72 hours before taking a flight to the U.S.

The new mandate comes after a new variant of the coronavirus spread across England. So far, the new variant, which contains 17 mutations, appears more transmissible and harder to control. England reported a new record of confirmed COVID-19 cases, now reaching more than 2.1 million cases on Thursday, according to Johns Hopkins University.

This move by the CDC falls short of an all-out ban to U.K. travelers that other countries, including Canada and many European nations, have implemented following news of the variant’s outbreak.