CDC now recommends ALL US domestic travelers get tested for COVID-19

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now recommends Americans that are traveling within the U.S. to get tested for Covid in the days leading up to their trip – no matter their vaccine status.

 It is an update from previous domestic travel guidance, that only recommended people who were not up to date with their booster shots to get tested.

The recommendation is non-binding, and there are no requirements being put in place. Although unlikely, there is a chance that some airliners, bus or train operators institute requirements based on CDC guidance, though.

Travelers into the country from outside are already required to show proof of a negative Covid test taken within 24 hours of travel, per CDC guidelines, and also have been vaccinated. 

The move comes as Covid cases begin to rise once again in the U.S., approaching the 100,000 per day mark heading into the upcoming summer months. 

‘Consider getting tested as close to the time of departure as possible (no more than three days) before your trip,’ the CDC writes in its updated guidance.

There are currently now federal regulations regarding masks, tests or vaccines for domestic travel.

Last month, a federal court in Florida struck down the CDC’s mask order for public transit, leaving the agency with little power to set enforceable rules.

Individual localities can set rules, though, with New York City, for example, still having its transit mask orders in place. Travelers from out of state are still required to follow local guidance.

The CDC also recommends those traveling within the country ‘get tested after travel if your trip involved situations with greater risk of exposure such as being in crowded places while not wearing a well-fitting mask or respirator.’

Cases in the U.S. are rising, likely spurring the CDC to make this change. Daily infections have risen to 95,719 per day, a 20 percent jump over the past week. 

That is the highest total daily infection figures have reached since February, though the numbers are still dwarfed by the 800,000 case per day average reached at the Omicron variant’s height in mid-January.

It is likely these figures are severely deflated as well, with some experts believing that upwards of 90 percent of active Covid cases are not being detected due to the prevalence of asymptomatic cases and a lack of available testing.