CNN News:拜登政府拟要求国内旅客提供核酸阴性证明
There's a debate taking place over COVID testing for U.S. airline passengers.
We told you late last year how travelers on some international flights are required to take a rapid coronavirus test and prove they don't have the virus before they can fly. The Biden Administration is thinking about requiring a negative COVID test for everyone traveling domestically.
Meaning Maine, Montana or Mississippi, you'll have to prove you've recently tested negative for COVID-19. To be clear, this is not a requirement yet.
The government now does mandate that people on public transportation wear masks but it doesn't require negative coronavirus tests to fly within the United States.
The U.S. Transportation Secretary says the decision on that hasn't been made yet but he says quote, "there has got to be common sense medicine and science really driving this". The Chief Executive Officer of Delta Airlines says that since the pandemic started, coronavirus transmission on planes has been quote, "absolutely minimal". And he says requiring tests for all domestic airline passengers would create a logistical nightmare that would not make travelers safer but would take tests away from other people who are sick.
So we'll see where the government lands on this. The airline industry is an important part of the U.S. economy. It accounts for about five percent of the nation's gross domestic product every year. And whether they're in the air or on the ground, people in America and beyond are trying to balance health concerns with the desire to get back to normal. In some places it's business as usual with few signs and restrictions related to the pandemic.