America should drop its requirement for all arrivals to present a negative Covid test, a travel boss said Thursday — as cases surge 54 percent in two weeks and a top scientist says the youngest children should only get one jab.
Glenn Fogel, who oversees Booking.com, warned many travelers — especially Europeans — were opting to take their vacations elsewhere this year, harming American businesses.
The US still requires vaccinated travelers to present a negative Covid test result upon arrival, taken within the previous 24 hours. Those who have not got the vaccine are currently denied entry.
It is increasingly becoming an outlier among western nations, with many including the UK, France and Germany having already dropped their test requirement for arrivals.
Covid cases in the US have ticked up by half over the previous two weeks on average, with another 105,215 recorded by states, departments and local health chiefs yesterday alone.
New York City today became the first area to warn it would bring back face masks and proof of vaccination requirements for restaurants, bars and other indoor spaces if cases continued to rise.
Deaths across the country more than doubled on 14 days ago, with another 1,929 recorded. But the uptick is likely due to several states reporting several days of fatalities, with the U.S. still registering 560 deaths a day on average — similar to early last month. The number of patients in hospitals climbed 19 percent in a fortnight, to 17,877.
It comes as chiefs at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) mull over approving two doses of Moderna's Covid vaccine for children less than five years old.
A top vaccine scientist — who asked not to be named — told DailyMail.com they should only approve one dose for the age group because most already have some protection from the virus due to previous infection.
Glenn Fogel, who oversees Booking.com, warned many travelers — especially Europeans — were opting to take their vacations elsewhere this year, harming American businesses (pictured today on CNBC Squawkbox)
Covid cases in the US ticked up by half over the previous two weeks yesterday on average. Yesterday another 105,215 infections were recorded by states, departments and local health chiefs.
The above map highlights the states where Covid cases are continuing to rise compared to two weeks ago. Only four are still recording a drop in cases
The above shows the number of deaths being recorded in the US every day. These are ticking up with almost 2,000 registered yesterday, although the surge is likely due to some states reporting several days worth of data
The Federal Government has been coming under growing pressure to drop its Covid testing rule for travelers, with several airline bosses and some scientists arguing the rule should be scrapped.
They argued that the prevalence of Covid across all 50 states, the high levels of immunity and high vaccination rates meant it was no longer needed.
Earlier last month bosses at US airline Delta hinted that Washington was planning to scrap the rules in 'the next few weeks', however there is yet to be any indication this is the plan from Washington.
