The US government is demanding that all UK air passengers be able to submit a negative COVID-19 test that has been made no longer than 72 hours before departure to the United States. The new obligation, which will come into effect on Monday, will be introduced because of a new coronavirus variant that has emerged in Britain and is highly contagious.

The US Centre for Disease Prevention (CDC) stated in a statement that all air passengers arriving from the UK must test negatively to enter the US. The decision is a turning point after the Trump administration told US airlines on Tuesday that it had no intention of making the tests mandatory.

The discovery of a new virus variety was reasonably enough for many countries to close their borders with Britain.