How To Handle The Covid Testing Requirement For Entering The United States
The following advice is based on my personal experience and is meant to help you minimize the cost of testing Covid Positive 24 hours before your scheduled flight to the United States. THIS HAPPENED TO ME!
- It does not matter if you are vaccinated according to the all the CDC guidelines.
- You probably will have no symptoms or symptoms you chalk up to the time difference and your past experience with foreign travel.
IT WILL BE VERY EXPENSIVE IF YOU GET CAUGHT WITH A POSITIVE COVID TEST 24 HOURS PRIOR TO YOUT FLIGHT.
Below are my suggestions:
- Before you leave:
- Check the US embassy webpage for the country you will be leaving from, make sure they have a list of people who will write you the 90-day travel letter, If the embassy does not have this information, see if your hotel knows of a physician who is familiar with this process;
- Know the quarantine policy for the country you are visiting, if you test positive, make sure you can get yourself to a country with no quarantine and an embassy listed physician on the US embassy webpage; and
- Know which airline will let you board within 6 days of testing positive, not all airlines have the same policy.
- Testing:
- Start testing daily as soon as possible, as soon as you test positive get hold of that US embassy recommended physician to find out what is needed for that 90-day letter;
- Make sure your airline ticket is fully refundable and book a new flight according to the date on your 90-day letter.
Happy Travels