Return to US COVID testing question

[shonadamson]

This is a weird one.  On our way back to the U.S. from Rome. We fly back through Dublin and overnight there.  The reservations are linked.  Will we have to prove a negative COVID test in re or Dublin.  I was just thinking test in Dublin because I think quarentine is shorter in Dublin than the 10 days in Rome. Any help would be great.

[Hlitner]

Unfortunately, we know the current rule and it is not a good thing.  Keeping in mind that it is ultimately up to the airlines to enforce the US testing rule, the requirement still remains that you must have a negative test (or a physician's release letter) within 1 day of your flight.  When you overnight in Dublin you will need to go back to the airport and check-in for your flight back to the USA.  It is during that check-out process that the airline clerk will ask to see your negative test results which must be dated either the day of your flight or the previous day.   Whether you would get an airline clerk who just ignores the rule or strictly enforces is a real crap shoot.   So what to do?  We would simply have some proctored home tests with us and use them in the hotel (before going back to Dublin's airport) so we have a new negative test.  Another alternative is to get tested at the airport (I believe they have a testing center in each terminal).   My problem with the airport testing is that many of the European airports have become so chaotic (due to crowding and lack of staff) that the testing situation might be a real hassle.   

 

Just a word about proctored home tests.  The entire process takes less than a half hour and can be done in your hotel room or anywhere that you have a decent Internet connection.  You must be connected to the Internet and the proctor for about 20 min.  DW and I recently did this from our hotel in Prague and actually did ours simultaneously (we each used our own device).  Once you have taken your nasal sample and activated the test you must leave your device (such as a phone) focused on that test as it counts down the 15 minutes needed to get test results.  But during those 15 minutes you can be moving around your hotel room, packing, and whatever.  Once our test showed negative the proctoring company (E-Med) immediately e-mailed us the necessary document for our flight.

 

As to quarantines, keep in mind that although the time can vary from place to place, you still need either a negative test or a letter from a physician attesting to your recovery from COVID.  

 

Hank

[slidergirl]

It just changed.  CDC announced today, 6/10, that the US will  no longer require the COVID test prior to boarding a plane home to the US starting on Monday, 6/13.   Now, if your flight stops somewhere before the US or you change planes, please keep checking on what requirements your intermediate airport needs.

 

 

 

[shonadamson]

Thank you Hank for all of the info.  I am so happy I will not have to use it since the US is getting rid of the requirement woohoo.

[Hlitner]

16 hours ago, shonadamson said:

Thank you Hank for all of the info.  I am so happy I will not have to use it since the US is getting rid of the requirement woohoo.

We were quite happy to hear the announcement yesterday (no more testing required).  But, we have already been burned by the US Government when they changed the rules (imposed testing) while we were living in our winter home (Puerto Vallarta).  They left 10s of thousands of Americans scrambling to find tests with relatively short notice.   Reading the fine print of the latest announcement the CDC says they will review the decision after 90 days and could reimpose a testing requirement at any time.  

 

The reality of travel since COVID is that folks need to keep up with rules and restrictions that can change nearly every day.  Flexibility is very helpful in dealing with the situation on the ground.  On our recent visit to Europe (just back 3 weeks ago) we made a last minute change to our plans and bypassed a plan trip to Vienna because the Austrian government was imposing restrictions not seen in most other parts of Europe.   Since we were independent and had a rental car, flexibility was not too much of an issue.

 

Hank