The United States government on Monday announced it would lift the COVID-related travel ban for 33 countries, including the United Kingdom and European Union, by early November if those travelers are fully vaccinated against the disease.
It would be the first time in more than 18 months that European travelers could travel to the U.S. to embark on Route 66 adventures. Multiple Route 66 businesses have reported that Europeans account for 40% of their business during a typical year.
USA Today had some of the details:
Travelers will need to show proof of full vaccination prior to boarding U.S.-bound planes. A COVID-19 test will also continue to be required within three days of departure and proof of negative results must be shown. Enhanced contact tracing and masking will also be required, but there will be no quarantine mandate.
The new policy also adds more stringent testing requirements for unvaccinated U.S. travelers, who will need to test within one day of departure and once again after arrival. […]
Vaccinated Americans are still subject to the CDC’s requirement, put in place in January, to test negative for COVID-19 no more than three days before an international flight to the U.S.
In the next few weeks, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will compile a list of accepted COVID-19 vaccinations and issue a contact tracing order that requires airlines to collect information such as phone numbers and email addresses of all U.S.-bound travelers.
Canada already had opened its borders to the U.S. in August.
In response to the initial travel ban’s negative effect on Route 66 tourism, Marian Pavel of the Route 66 Navigation app launched the “Keep Calm and Travel Route 66 (Later)” campaign last spring.
Many Route 66 businesses, however, reported robust business this summer from domestic travelers.
(Image of Route 66 shield in California by Randy Heinitz via Flickr)