CDC ISSUES NEW ORDER FOR EBOLA CONTACT TRACING; GLOBAL CONTACT TRACING REQUIREMENT TO FOLLOW
April 1, 2021
On March 2, 2021, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued orders on EVD Contact Tracing for airlines (available at this link) and funneling requirements for passengers (available at this link) due to recent new outbreaks of EVD in the Republic of Guinea (“Guinea”) and the Democratic Republic of Congo (“DRC”).
An important note: the U.S. government plans to expand contact tracing data requirements to all passengers entering the U.S. As of this newsletter, the date of a CDC Order providing for global contact tracing data reporting has not been announced, but it may be issued within the coming weeks. Once the expanded global requirement is issued, carriers will have a transition period of up to 100 days to update relevant systems for compliance, but carriers should begin preparations as soon as practicable.
At this time, the CDC’s contact tracing data transmission requirement applies only to two countries. Effective at 11:59pm U.S. Eastern Time on March 4, 2021, carriers who are transporting into the U.S. any passenger who was physically present in either Guinea or DRC within the past 21 days (a “covered passenger”) must meet two requirements:
1. Land covered passengers only at designated airports. Covered passengers may only arrive into the U.S. at one of six designated airports where CDC will conduct additional screening. If necessary, carriers should re-route covered passengers to arrive on flights landing at an approved point. The designated airports are:
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- John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)
- Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD)
- Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL)
- Washington-Dulles International Airport (IAD)
- Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)
- Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
2. Collect and transmit contact tracing data for each covered passenger. Before boarding a covered passenger, airlines must collect contact tracing data pertaining to each individual and transmit these data to the U.S. government via APIS, JSON, or PNRGOV. Carriers should make best efforts to collect each data element, if it exists, for each individual passenger. Carriers are not required to deny boarding if a covered passenger is unable to supply each data element. (Though carriers can remind passengers that providing this information is a U.S. government requirement.) Required data elements are:
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- Full name (last, first, and if available, middle or suffix)
- Address while in the U.S. (including number and street, city, state/territory, zip code)
- Primary phone number at which the passenger can be contacted while in the U.S. (including country and area code)
- Second phone number at which the passenger can be contacted while in the U.S. (including country and area code)
- Email address that the passenger will routinely check while in the U.S.
Aircraft operators who are not providing scheduled airline or public charter service (e.g., private charter or on-demand operations under Part 135) must also follow the above requirements if carrying a covered passenger into the U.S. These operators may elect to transmit contact tracing data via eAPIS.
All-cargo operations are outside the scope of the EVD Order as they do not carry any passengers. For crew of passenger flights, carriers are not required to transmit contact tracing data in advance. If needed due to an exposure risk, CDC will ask carriers for crew contact tracing information for a specific flight, which carriers must promptly provide (i.e., within 24 hours). Failure by airlines or individual passengers to comply with the Order’s requirements could result in criminal penalties.
We recommend you review this Order text carefully and please let us know if we can answer any questions.
If you have any questions, please contact Evelyn Sahr (esahr@eckertseamans.com or 202-659-6622); Drew Derco (dderco@eckertseamans.com or 202-659-6665), or Andy Orr (aorr@eckertsemans.com or 202-659-6625).
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