White House announces new aggressive steps to combat COVID-19
By Morgan Chalfant and Nathaniel Weixel - 12/02/21 05:00 AM EST
President Biden is planning to announce on Thursday steps his administration will implement to fight COVID-19 in the winter months, including more aggressive travel-related COVID-19 restrictions starting next week.
The steps come as the first known U.S. case of the omicron variant was detected in California on Wednesday, in a person who had returned over a week ago from South Africa where the variant was first detected.
The new variant presents the latest threat to the nation’s public health, the economy, and Biden’s political standing in the wake of sinking approval ratings ahead of next year’s midterm elections.
Biden is expected to announce Thursday that his administration, which has already imposed a ban on international travelers from eight southern African nations, will further tighten testing requirements on all other international travelers entering the country.
The new testing policy, which goes into effect early next week, will require international air travelers to present a negative COVID-19 test within 24 hours of their flight, regardless of vaccination status or nationality.
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https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/583945-biden-to-announce-stricter-covid-19-test-requirements-on
