US Clears All Airports for Flights Coming from Brazil; Tourist Restrictions Still in Place

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Reversing measures in force since May 28th, on Monday, September 14th, the United States government will lift two of its restrictions on flights departing from Brazil, according to a document from the Department of Homeland Security. The text, published in the Federal Register, mentions the end of the requirement that aircraft necessarily land at 15 pre-designated airports and that passengers undergo rigorous screening for Covid-19 detection.

The decision was made to enable health efforts to be better targeted and to encourage the growth of international tourism, strongly impacted by the novel coronavirus pandemic. The United States counts over 6.5 million cases, with 193,551 deaths.

“In particular, this document terminates the restrictions on arrival that apply to flights carrying people who have recently travelled or were present within the People’s Republic of China (excluding Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions); the Islamic Republic of Iran; the countries of the Schengen Area; the United Kingdom, excluding overseas territories outside Europe; the Republic of Ireland; or the Federative Republic of Brazil,” the text says.

However, the decision does not represent any opening for tourists, who are still subject to other restrictions. Only American citizens, permanent residents, people married to US citizens and children of Americans, are exempt from the ban since its inception.

According to the US Department of Homeland Security, the strategy will enable health resources to be “more effectively prioritized for other mitigating and control efforts”. The decision does not affect other health measures and passenger case reporting, and preventive contagion containment guidelines remain in place.

Efforts to digitalize operations, such as data collection, to reduce queues and potential contacts will also be intensified, according to the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control. Partners in the aviation sector will be provided training to identify potential cases and notify them to the authorities.

However, the agency recognizes that “symptom monitoring does not help much because many people have no symptoms.”

“The transmission of the virus may occur from passengers who have no symptoms or have not yet developed symptoms of infection. Therefore, the CDC is changing its strategy and prioritizing other public health measures to reduce the risks of travel-related transmission.”

To date, passengers from countries affected by the restrictions have only been allowed to land at the 15 pre-selected airports: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, and at two airports in the New York metropolitan area, John F. Kennedy and Newark Liberty.

As all current flights from Brazil already land at one of those airports, the new measure does not change anything for travelers from here.

Source: Veja

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