CDC UNVEILS NEW CONTACT TRACING DIRECTIVE TO COMBAT OMICRON VARIANT; MORE CHANGES EXPECTED
December 1, 2021
On November 30, 2021, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) issued a directive (click here) requiring airlines to transmit the contact tracing data of any passenger travelling to the U.S. from any of the eight countries affected by the new U.S. travel ban. These countries include South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and Malawi. CDC’s directive is being issued in response to its November 8, 2021 Order on vaccine, testing, and data transmission requirements for airlines as well as the Biden administration’s newly instituted travel ban, which was implemented on November 29, 2021, in response to growing concerns over the Omicron variant.
Specifically, the directive will require airlines to transmit the contact tracing data of all passengers coming to the U.S. from the eight affected countries within 24 hours of departure to the U.S. if the passenger has been in any of the eight affected countries within the past 14 days prior to travel. The contact tracing data must be provided to CDC for all flights that departed to the U.S. on or after 12:01 AM EDT, November 29, 2021 and carried at least one passenger who was present in an affected country within the past 14 days. No additional action is required for airlines that are already transmitting contact tracing data on a per flight basis via APIS or JSON to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”). However, the directive will require airlines that have been storing contact tracing data according to the previous CDC Order to now transmit passenger contact tracing data via specific transmission methods outlined here.
It is important to note that this directive does not supersede the travel ban, but rather requires the transmission of contact tracing data for those passengers that are still eligible to travel to the U.S. by air (i.e. U.S. citizens, etc.). CDC’s directive went into effect On November 30, 2021 and will remain in effect for the foreseeable future.
In addition, it has been reported that a new CDC Order will likely follow the CDC directive noted above within the next few days. The new revised Order is expected to be issued either tomorrow or Friday, December 2-3, 2021, and will go into effect early next week. Specifically, it will require all passengers to present either a negative antigen or PCR test taken within one day (24 hours) prior to departure to the U.S., regardless of vaccination status. The revised Order will not apply to crewmembers in keeping with the original November 8, 2021 Order. CDC is also expected to issue a revised attestation reflecting this new requirement as well as new guidance on the collection and storage of the attestation. However, it is important to note that this has not yet been confirmed.
If you have any questions or concerns about the CDC’s new directive or the U.S. travel ban, please do not hesitate to contact us.
If you have any questions, please contact Evelyn Sahr (esahr@eckertseamans.com 202-659-6622) or Drew Derco (dderco@eckertseamans.com 202-659-6665).
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