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Just In: Airbnb to Block and Cancel D.C. Reservations During Inauguration
Today, in response to various local, state and federal officials asking people not to travel to Washington, D.C., Airbnb is announcing that they will cancel reservations in the Washington, D.C. metro area during the Inauguration week. Additionally, they say they will prevent any new reservations in the Washington, D.C. area from being booked during that time by blocking such reservations.

Guests whose reservations are canceled will be refunded in full. Airbnb will reimburse hosts, at Airbnb’s expense, the money they would have earned from these cancelled reservations. HotelTonight reservations also will be canceled. Here’s the full press release.

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Air Travelers to US Must Show Negative Coronavirus Test, CDC Says

The big travel news is that the CDC says that “air passengers will be required to get a viral test within three days before their flight to the United States departs, and to provide written documentation of their lab results, or documentation of having recovered from Covid-19.”

According to CNN: “CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield is expected to sign the order on Tuesday and it will go into effect on January 26.”

This is not surprising since most countries already require it and it’s already required on flights from the UK to the USA. But it’s important information for all travelers to know. The reason why this is going into effect is because there are new variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that continue to emerge in countries around the world that are much more contagious and health agencies are trying to put a stop to them. Unfortunately, it may be too late.

The CDC says: “If a passenger does not provide documentation of a negative test or recovery, or chooses not to take a test, the airline must not allow the passenger to board.” More information.

This will definitely make international travel much more difficult because not all countries/destinations make it easy to get tested and until more airports start to offer testing, this will throw a huge wrench into travelers’ plans, not to mention, make it much more expensive since tests can cost up to $250.

Will this new rule change your travel plans? Granted, with COVID-19 out of control, no one should be traveling unless it’s essential.

FYI: “Airlines can be subject to criminal penalties if they fail to comply, and passengers can be subject to criminal penalties if they willfully give false or misleading information.”

U.S. Travel Reacts to CDC International Travel Testing Mandate
The U.S. Travel Association, the national, non-profit organization representing all components of the travel industry U.S. released a statement last night in favor of the new mandate: “A testing requirement provides yet another layer of safety for international travel, and should be accompanied by other risk-based policies—including lifting international inbound travel restrictions and dropping any post-arrival quarantine requirements. “With an international testing requirement in place, international visitors and returning residents would be tested at much higher rates than the general public and pose a much lower risk of transmitting the disease. So it would make sense to lift international travel restrictions and quarantine requirements at the same time. “With a risk-based, layered approach to health and safety throughout every aspect of travel, it’s possible to both protect public health and allow travel to safely resume.”

1 Comment On "Air Travelers to US Must Show Negative Coronavirus Test, CDC Says"
  1. Maryetta|

    Here in Hawaii there has been much discussion on this testing topic, as our state has required a Covid test that is negative, within 72 hours of flying, to avoid a mandatory quarantine upon arrival.
    Interestingly, between 1 and 7 % of those testing negative at time of travel are then found to be positive some days later (time variable dependent on a post test randomly done, or an individual tested due to symptoms). So, though it is an additional layer, it is not 100%. And some of the tested after arrival are asymptomatic carriers. Therefore other practices should still be followed: mask wearing, social distancing and hand washing. Unfortunately, some of the tourists visiting our islands feel that the negative test gives them a “free pass” to ignore further guidelines that are in place. It is a single test in a single snapshot in time.
    Hopefully with the vaccine roll out things will change by year’s end. I am also an avid traveler and miss it terribly.

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