You can enter the US without a COVID-19 test or even with a positive result: 'gray' life hack from travelers

A negative coronavirus test is required to enter the United States by air. Some people who cannot provide it use a workaround: fly to Canada or Mexico, and then enter through the land border, reports New York Times.

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After a three-week vacation in Greece, a 52-year-old Miami-based hospitality arts consultant and her husband passed pre-departure coronavirus tests needed to fly home from overseas. She tested positive, he didn't.

While coronavirus travel restrictions have been eased in many parts of the world, the United States still requires all international air passengers to present a negative test taken within 10 hours of departure. And according to guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fishman was supposed to self-isolate and delay her trip home for XNUMX days, but she said she needed to get home earlier to have the wedding.

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Instead, she took advantage of a quirk of the rules to return home five days later (a mandatory period of self-isolation required by the Greek government) via a "back door" - crossing the United States by land, which does not require a coronavirus test. Since Canada does not require an entry test, the couple first flew to Toronto, and after spending the night there, Fishman and her husband crossed the border into Buffalo and boarded a flight home. After all, there are no testing requirements for flights within the country.

“I had no symptoms, no fever, nothing. I felt fine, and when you're in the US, the CDC says you can come out of isolation five days after testing positive, so the same rules should apply when I travel,” Fishman said. “I can go to a wedding five days after a positive test in Miami, but if I catch the virus while I’m on vacation, I can’t fly home.” It should be illegal."

It's unclear how many infected people use detours to get home, which could also include flying to Mexico and using an overhead crossing there, because airlines don't require passengers to provide reasons for canceling or changing flights. But strong anecdotal evidence indicates some travelers and travel advisors are sharing advice on how to cross the border with COVID-19.

When flying to Toronto, Fishman said she followed directions from a family friend who used a similar route to return home to Boston when he tested positive in France in April.

Asked if she was concerned about infecting other passengers during her long journey home from Greece (she tested positive again on the fifth day), Fishman pointed to CDC guidance for people who contracted the virus in the United States, which says that people with asymptomatic cases or those whose symptoms resolved within the five-day isolation period may leave their homes. The recommendation is based on scientific evidence that the majority of coronavirus transmission occurs in the early stages of the disease.

“I slept in the same bed as my husband for five nights and he didn’t get infected, so I don’t think I was infectious by the time I flew home,” Fishman said. “I wore a mask all the time.”

The CDC didn't say why they have different rules for Americans who test positive at home and abroad, but an agency spokesperson reiterated that travelers should follow a 10-day guideline not to travel before boarding a flight to the United States, even if they test negative. test result. The Department of Homeland Security declined to comment on the possibility that travelers are using land borders to bypass testing requirements for air travel.

The United States introduced the testing requirement in January 2021, when less than 10 percent of Americans were vaccinated and new infections and hospitalizations were at record levels. Now, with higher vaccination rates and less severe cases, many American travelers and industry representatives are calling for the requirement to be lifted, arguing that it does little to prevent the spread of new variants of the virus in the United States.

“The existence of these workarounds highlights the absurdity of the current inbound testing policy, which is nothing short of complete ineffectiveness,” said Erica Richter, vice president of communications for the American Society of Travel Consultants. “We don’t follow science.”

David Friedman, president-elect of the American Society for Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, is concerned that travelers are using this method.

“From a public health perspective, an infectious person may be carrying one of the new variants, BA.4 or BA.5, which are more contagious and not yet as common in the U.S.,” he said. “New and improved vaccines could be available by the fall, and having these variants spread before the fall is a bad scenario.”

After testing positive in Stockholm in early April, a traveler and her husband decided to return to Seattle via Vancouver because the US-Canada border crossing was relatively close to their home. If she needs to take a test upon arrival at the Vancouver airport, she plans to go home and self-isolate there, she said. The woman asked to speak anonymously, as she was afraid of negative consequences.

“We had symptoms for about two weeks before testing positive. By the time we actually tested positive, we felt great, with virtually no symptoms, so we felt confident to travel,” she said. “At the Vancouver airport, if you look healthy, determined and at ease, no one will pull you out of the crowd for a test.”

Canadian officials often ask passengers health questions upon arrival, and some airports, such as those in Toronto and Vancouver, may randomly select some passengers to undergo coronavirus tests before they are allowed to leave the airport.

Canadian authorities are warning infected people against trying to transit through Canada, saying they are not allowed to board a flight to the country if they have symptoms of Covid-19 or were infected within 10 days prior to their departure. Before arriving in Canada, travelers must complete a health and travel form on the ArriveCAN app. The form contains a series of questions, including vaccination status and if the passenger is showing symptoms of coronavirus.

“All travelers arriving in Canada are required by Canadian law to answer all questions truthfully,” said Rebecca Purdy, senior spokesperson for the Canada Border Services Agency.

“Travelers who knowingly travel to Canada with active Covid-19 infection and do not disclose this information may face sanctions and/or criminal charges, and foreigners may also be denied entry and/or return to Canada,” Purdy said.

Mexican authorities did not respond to requests for comment. Travelers from the United States can enter Mexico without testing and quarantine, although they may undergo a medical examination upon arrival.

Despite the expense of last-minute bookings, backdoor routes are also used proactively by people to ensure they can get home on time.

Hilary Aranda, 39, a designer, had just finished a two-week dance tour of Italy when 12 Americans in her group tested positive. To avoid a positive result and possible problems, she did not take the test. Instead, she changed her flight home to Los Angeles for a flight to Tijuana, Mexico, with stops in London and Mexico City. She then crossed the land border to San Diego and drove home. Her itinerary changes cost her over $2000.

“Everyone around me had Covid and I didn’t want to risk it,” said Aranda, who wore a mask during her flights. Looking back, I can say that it was a crazy decision, but I had to return to my life and children.

Some travelers, who are less risky but still determined to avoid isolation in another country, are using telehealth services like Quick MD to obtain "documents of recovery" that allow people to travel to the United States without having to show a negative test. This option is available to travelers who test positive for up to 10 days after an initial positive test result or onset of symptoms, as it may be weeks or even months before some people test negative.

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During a video or telephone consultation with a medical officer authorized to issue travel authorization, some travelers lied about the date of symptom onset so they could return home without completing a 10-day isolation period.

“It was a three-minute consultation and I just told the doctor that my symptoms started before they started,” said one traveler, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of the authorities. He tested positive in London the day before his scheduled flight home to New York, he said, but returned home three days later.

“I got my permit within an hour, it was so easy,” he said.

Fishman returned home in time for the wedding and never had symptoms of Covid-19, though she said she felt exhausted, which she blamed on the stress of trying to get back on time.

“My chances of contracting Covid in Miami are just as high as when I travel, so requiring testing is futile in my opinion,” she said.

Travelers considering such an itinerary should be warned that they may be caught off guard. Purdy of Canada Border Services noted that violating travel instructions to enter Canada could result in a prison sentence of up to six months, a fine of around $586, or both.

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