WASHINGTON — The United States announced on Friday that Covid-19 testing would no longer be required for international travelers arriving by air, a major step in the country’s gradual lifting of pandemic restrictions.

White House Deputy Press Secretary Kevin Munoz confirmed the news on Twitter, with US media saying the measure would end this weekend after strong lobbying from the travel industry.

All passengers were required to present a negative Covid viral test taken shortly before travel – or proof of recovery from the virus within the past 90 days – before boarding a flight.

Munoz said President Joe Biden’s work on vaccines and treatments had been “essential” to easing travel restrictions, and added that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would continue to assess Covid data amid a recent increase in cases.

Last month, the United States passed the one million Covid death mark, with Biden acknowledging the “unrelenting” pain of bereaved families and urging Americans to remain vigilant.

America recorded its first Covid death in early February 2020 on the West Coast.

– Welcome move –

“We believe we have made the progress we need to put protocols in place around Covid so that we can lift this requirement,” presidential economic adviser Brian Deese told CNBC.

“I think this will be good news for business travel, good news for commerce and American businesses as well.”

Many mask mandates across the United States have been lifted, but the country has recently seen an increase in daily virus cases, largely due to new Omicron subvariants.

Around 300 people die each day in the country from Covid, down from the last surge in February, when the daily average rose to 2,700.

Vaccines are free and widely available, but uptake rates vary widely by state.

Nationally, 66.7% of the population is fully immunized, with this figure rising to 91.2% among those aged 65 and over.

With the US economy hit by runaway inflation, the travel industry welcomed the move.

“The airline industry appreciates the administration’s decision to waive the pre-departure testing requirement consistent with the current epidemiological environment,” industry federation Airlines 4 America said in a statement.

“Removing this policy will help encourage and restore air travel to the United States…We look forward to welcoming the millions of travelers who are ready to come to the United States for vacation, business and reunion.” with their loved ones.”