HOUSTON — New COVID-19 travel restrictions go into effect Tuesday. A negative COVID-19 test will now be required for anyone coming to the U.S. from another country.
Whether you're planning your next vacation or trying to see family overseas, a lot is changing.
“They were checking our blood oxygen level when we checked into the hotel," Jeanne Polocheck said.
She's the owner of Well Traveled Texan. She was in Mexico three weeks ago and was able to come home without COVID testing, but starting Tuesday, that will change.
The CDC is requiring airlines to deny boarding to anyone coming into the U.S. from another country without documentation of a negative test within 72 hours of the flight.
“It can be the rapid test or the PCR test,” Polocheck said.
While some resorts are offering testing on-site, the issue can be the turnaround time. There aren't as many labs processing results as in the U.S.
“The biggest question people are asking themselves is what if they test positive when they are there?" she said.
The CDC requires you to quarantine at your destination and then re-test before coming home – or show documentation of recovery.
“Make sure you have a really good travel advisor that’s keeping up with all of this because otherwise, you can be making a very expensive mistake," Polocheck said.
If you’ve tested positive for COVID-19 three months prior to travel, you aren’t required to show a negative test. But, right now, even if you get the vaccine, you still must test negative before boarding. The reason? Simply not enough people have had their second dose of the vaccine.