All international travelers will have to show negative COVID test results from day before flight to enter United States

Spokesman-Review - 12/3/2021

Dec. 3—Starting Monday, all travelers entering the United States will have to show a negative COVID test from the day before their flight in order to get into the country.

As the omicron variant continues to pop up around the globe, including in a handful of states, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced it was clamping down on its testing requirements for entry into the country.

"As we learn more about the omicron variant, this new one-day testing policy will help to protect travelers and the health and safety of American communities from COVID-19," a statement from the CDC says. "These orders put in place a stringent and consistent global international travel policy that is guided by public health."

Beginning just after midnight on Monday, this order will apply to all air travelers wanting to enter the United States, regardless of their citizenship or vaccination status.

The omicron variant has not been detected in Washington state yet, but health officials suspect it's just a matter of time.

Here's a look at local numbers:

The Spokane Regional Health District reported 113 new COVID-19 cases and six additional deaths on Friday.

There have been 1,105 deaths due to COVID-19 in Spokane County residents.

There are 69 people hospitalized with the virus in Spokane .

The Panhandle Health District reported 63 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, as well as five more deaths.

There have been 722 deaths due to COVID-19 in Panhandle residents.

There are 64 Panhandle residents hospitalized with the virus. Kootenai Health is down to 47 COVID patients as of Friday.

Arielle Dreher's reporting for The Spokesman-Review is funded in part by Report for America and by members of the Spokane community. This story can be republished by other organizations for free under a Creative Commons license. For more information on this, please contact our newspaper's managing editor.

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