Health Alert – U.S. Embassy Tegucigalpa, Honduras

HEALTH ALERT –  U.S. Embassy Tegucigalpa, Honduras (January 27, 2021)

LOCATION: Honduras

EVENT: CDC Order on Pre-Flight Testing

On January 26, 2021, the CDC Order on pre-flight COVID-19 testing for all international travelers to the United States went into effect.

The new CDC order requires all aircraft passengers, with limited exceptions, age two and over departing from any foreign country with a destination in the United States to have a negative COVID-19 test within the three days before their flight to the United States departs, or three days preceding departure of the initial flight if the passenger is arriving via one or more connecting flights. All passengers must show written or electronic documentation of their negative test result to the airline or provide documentation of recovery from COVID-19 in the form of a positive viral test result and a letter from a licensed health care provider or public health official stating that the passenger has been cleared for travel.

Waivers to the testing requirement may be granted by the CDC on an extremely limited basis when extraordinary emergency travel (such as an emergency medical evacuation) must occur to preserve someone’s health and safety, and testing cannot be completed before travel. There are no waivers available for individuals who test positive for COVID-19. Individuals – or air carriers seeking to allow boarding by potentially qualifying individuals – who believe they meet the criteria for a waiver should contact the U.S. Embassy at usahonduras@state.gov and provide the information below. The U.S. Embassy will then submit the request to the CDC for consideration.

The following information must be provided for each passenger:

Name (family name/surname, given name), passport number and country
Cell phone number including country code of passenger or head of household if family unit
Email address of passenger or head of household if family unit
U.S. destination address
- Is U.S. destination home address?
Departure date
Flight itinerary
Name of submitting entity if different from passenger
Name of company submitting on behalf of passenger(s) (if applicable)
Name of point of contact submitting on behalf of passenger(s) (if applicable)
Phone and email address for POC submitting waiver request on behalf of passenger(s) (if applicable)
Purpose of travel to the U.S. (provide brief explanation of why urgent travel is needed and how travel will contribute to health and safety of passengers(s))
Justification for testing waiver (e.g. no testing available, impact on health and safety)
Documentation to support justification for test waiver, if available (e.g. medical records or orders for medical evacuation)

For additional information on COVID-19, please:

Consult the  CDC  website for the most up-to-date information.
For the most recent information on what you can do to reduce  your  risk of contracting COVID-19 please see the  CDC’s latest recommendations.
Visit the  COVID-19 crisis page on travel.state.gov  for the latest information.
Visit the  Department of Homeland Security’s  website  on the latest travel restrictions to the United States and check with  your  airline regarding any updated information about  your  travel  plans.
Visit the Internal Revenue Service’s website for information on the Economic Impact Payment.
Visit the U.S. Embassy’s COVID-19 page.
Monitor local news for updates.