Tag: United States

As the COVID-19 pandemic still lingers in the United States, the country has laid out entry requirements for all travellers as per the instructions of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Can Ghanaians travel to USA now?

Yes, Ghanaians can travel to the USA, however, proof of negative COVID-19 Test or Recovery from COVID-19 is required.

What happens if I test positive for COVID-19 before traveling to the United States?

People whose pre-departure test result is positive should self-isolate and delay their travel until they have recovered from COVID-19.

• According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), all passengers 2 years of age and older are required to get a COVID‑19 viral test (nucleic acid amplification / PCR test or a viral antigen test) within 3 days before departure to the US.

Passengers must provide written documentation of their negative test result (paper or electronic copy) to the airline. Test results must show the name, specimen collection date and type of test done. Test results where the testing date is more than 3 days before departure will not be accepted.

• Alternatively, passengers may provide official written documentation of a positive COVID‑19 test result within the last 3 months alongside a letter from their healthcare provider or a public health official that they have recovered and are cleared for travel. Together these are referred to as ‘documentation of recovery’.
• All passengers age 2 and above travelling to the USA will be required to sign an attestation prior to departure (parent or other authorized individuals may attest on behalf of passengers aged 2 to 17) confirming they meet the requirements and thus cleared to travel.

The attestation form must be downloaded, printed, completed and signed before reporting to check‑in at the airport. Passengers who do not attest will not be permitted to travel.

Can tourist travel to USA now?

The USA is currently open for tourism, with the exception of people coming from 34 banned territories.

• Passengers who have been physically present in the Schengen Area, the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, India, Iran, China, Brazil or South Africa 14 days preceding their trip are not permitted to travel to the USA.

Exemptions are granted to US citizens, lawful US permanent residents and non‑US citizens who are the spouse of a US Citizen or lawful permanent resident.

• Passengers who have been in the Democratic Republic of Congo or Guinea within the last 21 days will be permitted entry into the USA only through New York (JFK), Newark (EWR), Chicago (ORD), Los Angeles (LAX) and Washington (IAD).

New York used to be the US epicentre of the Covid-19 pandemic back in March 2020, with health facilities being unable to deal with the influx of cases.

However, New York is on the verge of totally reopening to the outside world following the reduction in cases, hospitalizations and deaths.

Can you travel to NY during COVID 19?

Yes, you can.

Can you travel to New York during COVID 19?

Yes, one can travel to New York during the COVID-19 period. Based on the fact that New York is subject to US government rules, travel from Brazil, China, the European Schengen Area, India, Iran, Ireland, South Africa and the United Kingdom is, however, not permitted.

Exemptions are available for US citizens, family members or permanent residents. Travel from all other countries is allowed. All air travellers entering the United States are now required to have a negative Covid-19 test result.

New York travel restrictions

• International travellers must comply with CDC requirements, which currently include proof of negative test or recent COVID recovery in order to board airplanes heading to the US.
• Fully vaccinated individuals who have not recovered from COVID-19 in the past 3 months are recommended to get tested 3-5 days after arrival in New York from international travel.
• All unvaccinated international travellers who have not recovered from COVID-19 in the past 3 months are recommended to get tested 3-5 days after arrival in New York, consider non-mandated self-quarantine (7 days if tested on day 3-5, otherwise 10 days), and avoid contact with people at higher risk for severe disease for 14 days, regardless of the test result.
• Asymptomatic travellers entering New York from another country, U.S. state, or territory are no longer required to test or quarantine.
• Symptomatic travellers must immediately self-isolate and contact the local health department or their healthcare providers to determine if they should seek COVID-19 testing.
• All travellers must complete the Traveler Health Form unless the traveller had left New York for less than 24 hours or is coming to New York from a contiguous state. Contiguous states to New York are Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont.

Irrespective of quarantine, all travellers must:

• Monitor symptoms daily from the day of arrival in New York through day 14;
• Continue strict adherence to all recommended non-pharmaceutical interventions, including hand hygiene and the use of face coverings, through Day 14 (even if fully vaccinated); and
• Must immediately self-isolate if any symptoms develop and contact the local public health authority or their healthcare provider to report this change in clinical status and determine if they should seek testing.
• Fully vaccinated is defined as being 2 or more weeks after the final dose (e.g., first for Janssen/Johnson & Johnson, second for Pfizer and Moderna) of the vaccine approved by the FDA or authorized by the FDA for emergency use.

Vaccines that are not authorized by the U.S. Federal Drug Administration (FDA) for emergency use or approved by the FDA do not satisfy this definition.

• Recently recovered is defined as 1) recovered from laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 by meeting the criteria for discontinuation of isolation, 2) within the 3-month period between the date of arrival in New York and either the initial onset of symptoms related to the laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 infection or, if asymptomatic during the illness, the date of the laboratory-confirmed test, and 3) asymptomatic after travel or new exposure.

Following the widespread of the COVID-19 pandemic, some countries have taken precautionary measures to limit the further damaging effects of the disease wave by introducing travel restrictions.

Hawaii is no exception as the US state happens to be an evergreen tourist site being the only state in the United States comprised entirely of islands as well as the only state in the tropics.

There are Hawaii Travel Restrictions in effect for all the major Hawaiian Islands, including the islands of Oahu, Kauai, Maui, Hawaii (the Big Island), Molokai, and Lanai.

Do you need a PCR test to enter Hawaii?

Yes. Hawaii requires all visitors to undergo an FDA-approved nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) test with results from a CLIA-certified laboratory from one of Hawaii’s trusted testing partners.

• PCR tests are a type of NAAT test, so if you get a negative rapid PCR test result from a testing partner, you are good to go.

Hawaii’s approved trusted testing partners include CVS, Walgreens, AFC Urgent Care, Bartell Drugs – in partnership with Alaska Airlines, Carbon Health, CityHealth Urgent Care, Color, Discovery Health MD, Quest Diagnostics, Vault Health, and Kaiser Permanente.

• Visitors must present evidence of their test upon arrival and will be able to upload their negative test result when they complete their travel and health forms on the Safe Travels digital system: https://travel.hawaii.gov/#/
• If the traveller has a printout of their negative result and has not yet uploaded it on the Safe Travels digital system, airport screeners will take a photo of the hard-copy negative test result upon arrival.
• Children under 5 are also required to take a prior COVID-19 test to travel to Hawaii.

Also, one may need a second test upon arrival at the airport if you are visiting the Island of Hawaii (the Big Island) in order to avoid a 14-day quarantine. This second test is not a replacement for the PCR test taken prior to travel but will be a supplemental rapid antigen test that will be free to the traveller.

Quarantine restrictions in Hawaii?

There is currently a 10-day quarantine restriction for all in-bound visitors to the Hawaiian Islands. According to the directive from Hawaii Governor David Ige, all visitors arriving in the Hawaiian Islands (visitors and returning residents) must self-quarantine for 10 days following their arrival.

Regardless, there is a pre-travel testing option that will permit travellers to bypass Hawaii’s quarantine restrictions, as long as they bring along proof of a negative COVID-19 test from a state-approved trusted testing partner. All travellers must have their negative test results prior to departure (negative COVID-19 test should be taken within 72 hours of departure).

• Individuals fully vaccinated in the State of Hawaii may now travel inter-county without pre-travel testing/quarantine starting the 15th day after the completion of their vaccination.
• Travellers who arrive in Kauai, Maui, and Hawaii counties before they are fully vaccinated or before the 15th day after the completion of their vaccination, will be placed into mandatory quarantine for the full 10 days unless they meet the criteria for other exceptions (pre-travel testing and CISA).
• Despite the above measures, all counties in Hawaii require residents to wear facemasks when in public settings.

Which countries are banned from entering Hawaii?

The ban on travel between Hawaii and the mainland has been lifted, hence no country has been banned from entering the state.

The United States Department of State maintains both an Embassy and a Consulate General in the jurisdiction of Nigeria.

The U.S. Embassy is located in Abuja with a Consulate in Lagos to efficiently carry out their international relations.
It must be noted that though the Coronavirus pandemic has continued spreading on daily basis both in the U.S and Nigeria, the United States Embassy in Nigeria is still open and operational to carry out its mandated activities.

The information available to the public on Nigeria’s page of the U.S Embassy website has it that;
1. The United States Embassy in Abuja and Consulate General in Lagos are processing a limited number of non-immigrant and immigrant visas.

There are interview appointments for but not limited to;
1. Appointments for adopted children of U.S. Citizens.
2. Spouses and children of U.S. citizens.

When will U.S Embassy open in Nigeria?

The U.S Embassy in Nigeria and its Consulates are open and functional at the moment.
Though the embassy is open, its operations are limited and subject to Covid-19 protocols and precautionary measures.

The United States as part of her precautionary measures to stop or limit the importation of the Covid-19 pandemic from other countries have limited and, in some cases, fully stopped the operations of her embassies across the world.

Every citizen whose country has relations with America would want to know the state of the U.S Embassy in their jurisdiction and India is no exception.

For the record, to ensure that the U.S-India relationship is strong throughout the country, the Embassy coordinates the activities of four consulates;

1. Mumbai
2. Kolkata,
3. Chennai
4. Hyderabad

The U.S Embassies in India are still open and operational but their activities have been more limited especially when it comes to visa applications.

According to the U.S Embassy in India;

1. The U.S. Embassy New Delhi and the U.S. Consulates in Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Mumbai are closed for routine visa and citizen services but continue to provide emergency services
2. U.S. citizens and visa applicants who are granted emergency appointments at U.S. Embassy in New Delhi or any U.S. consulate in India must wear masks upon entering the premises and are prohibited from entering these facilities if they have symptoms of COVID-19 or have been exposed to anyone known to have tested positive for COVID-19 in the previous 14 days.

The United States of America just like any sovereign country in the world has its Embassies independently in all countries apart from Bhutan, Iran, Maldives, North Korea, Syria, and Yemen.

The U.S embassies all over the world are working but at the moment, their services are limited as a result of the ravaging effect of the Covid-19 pandemics in the States.

One of the services that have been clamped down upon is the issuance of visas to non-Americans with the intention of traveling into America.

Reports from the United States Government has outlined the following regarding visa:

1. Travel services to U.S. citizens would continue to be available.
2. The Department of State temporarily suspended routine visa services at all U.S. Embassies and Consulates.
3. As resources allow, embassies and consulates will continue to provide emergency and mission-critical visa services and will resume routine visa services as local conditions and resources allow.

In Ghana; The U.S. Embassy in Accra has resumed routine American Citizen Services. These services are offered by appointment only and for the purposes of passport, Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA), or notarial service.

For some other countries, access is granted but also on a limited basis:

Philippines: The U.S. Embassy Manila has resumed certain nonimmigrant visa services.

Mexico: Visa services are open but limited and vary by city.

United Kingdom: The U.S. Embassy in Belfast and the U.S. Consulate in Belfast currently are open for emergency visa services only.

Nigeria: The U.S. Embassy in Abuja and Lagos Consulate are offering limited non-immigrant and immigrant visa services.

India: The U.S. Embassy New Delhi and the consulates in Chennai, Hyderabad, and Kolkata have suspended all visa services until May 15 and at the Mumbai Consulate until May 28.