Making International Travel Easier By Christine Cutler
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’m heading to Italy in a few weeks, and I have been busy trying to navigate the regulations not only for getting into Italy but also for returning to the United States. While the rules for traveling internationally depend on where you are traveling, from where you are returning, and which airline you are ying, there is one sure thing: Before you return to the United States, you have to take a COVID-19 test within 72 hours of your return ight One of the roadblocks you can face is where to get that test in a foreign country. Your airline should have links on its websites, but we’ve found something that is even easier. Abbott Labs has developed a self-test and an app to make testing easier. Abbott partnered with United Airlines to help international travelers; the CDC’s new regulations allow you to test yourself abroad and use the veri ed negative test result to board an international ight to return to the US CDC Director Rochelle P. Walensky, MD, MPH, praised the effort s a y i n g , “ We appreciate the private sector proactively h e l p i n g travelers have access to easy, r e l i a b l e COVID-19 test options. About the size of a day planner, the BinaxNOW Home Test will t into carry-on luggage, purses, or briefcases easily. Abbott suggests passengers pack more than one BinaxNOW test kit in case of error or inconclusive test results. You can nd a detailed description of the BinaxNOW hometesting process by visiting United’s Emed page
done through eMed, provides a proctor who will observe you taking t he sample and testing it before digitally providing veri ed test results My concern, and that of a few other writers I know is that we are not ying United to our international destinations. Finding out whether we could also use the BinaxNow Home Test to return to the US was not easy. Multiple airlines told us repeatedly to look at their websites to nd the answers. You can use our travel guide to nd out the accepted test type for your trip. Or, You can nd all the answers on our website. No, we could not. I nally contacted Darcy Ross, director of Abbott’s media relations. I stated that since the CDC had approved use of the test for international travel, I thought it would be eligible for travel on any airline. She checked and answered, “Anyone traveling internationally on another airline can order our BinaxNOW Home Test through eMed and use the results displayed in the NAVICA app to meet the CDC updated guidelines for returning to the US. The same afternoon, I received this answer from American Airlines, “Our requirements specify the type of test to be taken but doesn't stipulate the establishment for your test result.” As of this writing, I have not heard back from Delta My suggestion is that you check with your airline before your trip to be safe For more information, check out this article on the Abbott website. For information on the Navica app, click here
I should note that the BinaxNow Home Test is the test travelers must use. The BinaxNow Self Test is not eligible for travel purposes. The Home Test experience,
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BinaxNOW™ COVID-19 Test:
