Emergency (Revision) Request Memo 02NOV2021

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES
Public Health Service
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC)
Atlanta GA 30341-3724

November 1, 2021
Dominic Mancini
Deputy Director
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
Office of Management and Budget
Washington, DC
Subject: Request for Emergency Review and Clearance
Dear Mr. Mancini:
Pursuant to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) procedures established at 5 CFR Part 1320,
Controlling Paperwork Burdens on the Public, I request that the proposed information collection project,
Requirement for Negative Pre-Departure COVID-19 Test Result or Documentation of Recovery from All
Airline or Aircraft Passengers Arriving into the United States from Any Foreign Country and
Requirement for Proof of Covid-19 Vaccination for Noncitizen, Nonimmigrants Air Passengers Arriving
into the United States From A Foreign Country be processed in accordance with section 1320.13,
Emergency Processing.
I have determined that this information must be collected prior to the expiration of time periods
established under Part 1320, and that this information is essential to CDC’s COVID-19 emergency
response. With case counts and deaths due to COVID-19, particularly the Delta variant, continuing to
increase around the globe, the high proportion of unvaccinated people in the U.S. and around the world,
and infected people with asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic infections, the United States is taking a
multi-layered approach to combatting COVID-19, concurrently preventing and slowing the continued
introduction of cases and further spread of the virus within U.S. communities. Vaccination is the most
important measure for reducing the risk of COVID-19 transmission during travel and in avoiding severe
illness, hospitalization, and death; however, infections in fully vaccinated people indicate that vaccination
is a necessary but not sufficient measure; testing of these travelers is still necessary and this required.
On October 25, 2021, CDC announced two Orders 1) Requirement for Negative Pre-Departure Covid-19
Test Result or Documentation of Recovery from Covid-19 For All Airline or Other Aircraft Passengers
Arriving in The United States from Any Foreign Country and 2) CDC’s Amended Order Implementing
Presidential Proclamation on Advancing Safe Resumption of Global Travel During the COVID-19
Pandemic with the goal of reducing the spread of COVID-19 in the travel corridor and preventing
COVID-19 transmission to U.S. communities. These Orders are effective at 12:01 EST on November 8,
2021.
The Order titled Requirement for Negative Pre-Departure Covid-19 Test Result or Documentation of
Recovery from Covid-19 For All Airline or Other Aircraft Passengers Arriving in The United States from
Any Foreign Country requires all air passengers 2 years of age or older, to present a negative COVID-19
viral test result within a time period based on their vaccination status, or present documentation of having
recovered from COVID-19 in the last 90 days, before boarding a flight to the U.S. from a foreign
country. CDC’s Order Advancing Safe Resumption of Global Travel During the COVID-19 Pandemic
and Amended Order Implementing Proclamation on Advancing Safe Resumption of Global Travel

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES
Public Health Service
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC)
Atlanta GA 30341-3724

During the COVID-19 Pandemic implements the President’s Proclamation to suspend and limit entry into
the United States for non-U.S. citizens who are nonimmigrants seeking to enter the United States by air
travel and are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The Presidential Proclamation and CDC’s Order
do not apply to U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, U.S. lawful permanent residents, immigrants, aircrew
members (under certain circumstances), and certain categories of noncitizen, nonimmigrants. The
requirements of these Orders must be met in order to board an aircraft to the United States from another
country. CDC amended the Order Advancing Safe Resumption of Global Travel During the COVID-19
Pandemic and Amended Order Implementing Proclamation on Advancing Safe Resumption of Global
Travel During the COVID-19 Pandemic on October 30, 2021 with minimal changes to clarify that some
individuals are not required to attest to having to agree and arrange to self-quarantine after arriving in the
United States.
CDC cannot reasonably comply with the normal clearance given the fact that COVID-19 pandemic
continues to spread rapidly around the world, and the extreme transmissibility of the Delta variant has
resulted in rapidly rising numbers of COVID-19 cases. As of November 1, 2021, a cumulative estimated
total of over 246 million cases and over 4.9 million confirmed deaths have now been reported worldwide.
Even in countries that have managed to slow the rate of transmission, the risks for COVID-19 resurgence
remains. In the United States, as of November 1, 2021, there have been over 45 million cases and more
than 743,000 confirmed deaths.
Please provide an approval/disapproval determination of this request to collect information under an
emergency clearance by close of business, November 2, 2021.

Respectfully,

Debra R. Lubar -S

Digitally signed by Debra R.
Lubar -S
Date: 2021.11.01 17:20:03 -04'00'

________________________________________
Debra Lubar
Acting Director, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic
Infectious Diseases (NCEZID), Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC)