By Sujeet Rajan

June 10: For most travelers planning a summer vacation to India, there’s some welcome news: no need to stress on the logistics of getting a Covid test done within 24 hours of travel back to the US. It can be really troublesome for people going to small towns and villages where there’s a paucity of facilities or no facilities at all for Covid testing and fast turnaround of results.

“The Biden administration is expected to announce Friday that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will lift its requirement for travelers to test negative for Covid-19 before entering the US, according to a senior administration official and a US Centers For Disease Control and Prevention official.

“The move, which CNN was first to report, will go into effect for US-bound air travelers at midnight on Sunday, the officials said. The CDC is lifting the restriction that the travel industry had lobbied against for months after determining it was no longer necessary “based on the science and data,” the senior administration official said. The CDC will reassess its decision in 90 days and if officials decide they need to reinstate it, because of a concerning new variant, for example, will do so. The measure has been in place since January 2021.”: CNN

When I last went from US to India and back, in October-November, the requirement was not so stringent with more time to get the Covid test done. However, not only was it an expensive proposition – especially going from the US, it was a hassle and worry wondering whether the test results would arrive in time. There were numerous stories of folks denied boarding because of test results not coming on time.

In my case, I had to drive for over 70 miles to get my RTPCR test done at a location in Connecticut, which charged $150. I was told I had the option to get the result via email, but I waited two hours for a physical report to be given to me, as the weekend was looming, and their office was going to be closed. When the single sheet was handed to me, I found the printed date was wrong, with the month down as May. When I pointed it out, the nurse gave a wry smile and said it was a typo. She added: “Good you spotted that. You would have had a tough time at the airport.”

I sure would have.

Couple of days before I left for the US, I got in touch with a local company in Delhi, who sent one of their personnel home to take my test. The price was reasonable enough: Rs. 600. I was told the test result would be in within 24 hours by email. After 36 hours had gone by, and a few futile phone calls later, I called another company. They too sent somebody over to take a nasal swab, for Rs. 500. I got the test results by email within four hours. Minutes later, I got the test result from the first company too.

I went to the airport armed with two negative Covid test results.