An order which calls for the expansion of the requirement for all airline passengers who enter the United States to have proof of a negative 2019 Novel Coronavirus test result was signed earlier today, Tuesday, January 12, 2021 from the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States, to become effective as of Tuesday, January 26, 2021.
All Airline Passengers Entering the United States Must Have a Negative Test of 2019 Novel Coronavirus
A test will be required of all passengers prior to departure to the United States — combined with recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to get tested again up to five days after arrival and stay home for seven days after travel has been completed — is purportedly critical in efficiently helping to slow the introduction and spread of the current 2019 Novel Coronavirus pandemic within communities in the United States from infections which are related to travel. Even though it will not eliminate all risk, testing prior to departure — with results known and acted upon before travel begins — will help identify infected travelers before they board airplanes.
Airline passengers will be required to get a viral test for current infection within three days before their flight departs to the United States; and provide written documentation of their laboratory test result — whether a paper copy or an electronic copy — to the airline, or provide documentation of having recovered from 2019 Novel Coronavirus. Airlines must confirm the negative test result for all passengers or documentation of recovery before any of the passengers board.
If a passenger does not provide documentation of a negative test or recovery — or chooses not to take a test altogether — the airline must deny boarding to the passenger.
“Variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus continue to emerge in countries around the world, and there is evidence of increased transmissibility of some of these variants”, according to this official press release from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “With the US already in surge status, the testing requirement for air passengers will help slow the spread of the virus as we work to vaccinate the American public.”
A Look at the Latest Statistics
The latest statistics are that at least 1,940,352 people — or slightly greater than 2.16 percent — have died of the minimum of 89,707,115 confirmed cases worldwide, according to this situation dashboard from the World Health Organization pertaining to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus…
…and at the same time, at least 1,959,734 people — or slightly greater than 2.14 percent — have died of the minimum of 91,539,016 confirmed cases worldwide, according to this situation dashboard from Johns Hopkins University & Medicine pertaining to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus.
At the time this article was written, at least 375,124 people — or slightly less than 1.67 percent — have died of the minimum of 22,522,749 confirmed cases in the United States, according to this situation dashboard from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention pertaining to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus — and with an estimated population of 331,002,651 people, that means that greater than 0.11 percent of the population of the United States have died with it.
The population of the world is currently at almost 7.8 billion people. Using the higher statistics from Johns Hopkins University & Medicine, that means that slightly greater than 1.17 percent of the population have confirmed cases of 2019 Novel Coronavirus, with slightly greater than 0.025 percent of the population having died with it.
Summary
“A more balanced public policy approach is needed—one that is based on testing as a replacement for quarantines so that we can begin addressing the severe side-effects of COVID-19 policies”, according to this official press release from the International Air Transport Association, which quoted Alexandre de Juniac, who is director general and chief executive officer of the trade association for airlines around the world. “Science tells us that travelers will not be a significant factor in community transmission if testing is used effectively. But most governments have tunnel-vision on quarantine and are not at all focused on finding ways to safely re-open borders — or alleviate the self-imposed economic and mental health hardships of the lockdowns.”
I have long advocated that the population in general has overreacted to the current 2019 Novel Coronavirus pandemic since it was first officially declared by the World Health Organization on Wednesday March 11, 2020 — and this New York State Senate bill with a dangerous proposal to place disease carriers in detention centers is just one of countless examples…
…but the data from the aforementioned studies do not mean that all quarantines should end — just many of the ones which are deemed ineffective — nor should all preventative measures of possibly contracting the 2019 Novel Coronavirus cease and desist during the entire process of traveling by airplane.
Should you panic about the 2019 Novel Coronavirus?
NO.
Should you worry about the 2019 Novel Coronavirus?
NO.
Should you be concerned about the 2019 Novel Coronavirus?
YES. Simply take the proper — and logical — precautions to help both prevent the further spread of this disease and to reduce your chances of contracting it. Stay informed on the latest developments pertaining to the current 2019 Novel Coronavirus pandemic. Follow advice given by your health care provider, your national and local public health authority, or your employer on how to protect yourself and others from contracting the 2019 Novel Coronavirus.
In fact, you should be more concerned about the widespread concern pertaining to the current 2019 Novel Coronavirus pandemic, which will likely affect you or impact you more than the virus itself.
Unfortunately, we have media outlets which are obsessed with intentionally scaring the public into a frenzy, politicians who have no idea about what they are talking, people still quarantined around the world, airlines which reduced the number of flights they operate by the thousands, hundreds of hotel and resort properties temporarily shut down, marathons and major events being canceled left and right worldwide, schools closing, people unfairly discriminating against others who may have been exposed to the virus, hand sanitizer and alcohol being quickly wiped off of the shelves in stores, pharmacies inundated with frightened customers, and scams emerging and taking advantage of unsuspecting individuals.
Now that some evidence to the contrary is slowly being released from reliable sources, perhaps we can be smarter about fighting the 2019 Novel Coronavirus and eventually end the pandemic once and for all — with sound and reasoned ways of reducing the spread and successfully treating the disease whenever someone contracts it.
This article is the latest in a series pertaining to the current 2019 Novel Coronavirus pandemic in an effort to get the facts out with information derived from reliable sources.
All photographs ©2019 and ©2020 by Brian Cohen.
