Delta sent us info that we need to provide negative test "at most 72 hours before arrival to Italy.
I am now working on that digital passenger locator form. The very bottom says
a performed a rapid antigenic or molecular test with a negative result for SARS-CoV-2 within 48 hours prior to entry into the country
48 hrs, not 72.
What was your experience?
I departed on 9/05/21 and it was within 72 hours.
I have not gone back to check it out, but it seems what I have seen is 72 hrs for PCR test and 48 hrs for the antigen test. Not recall if it was Italy specific.
What I do recall is there was a different time frame based on the type of test
This has changed a few times, most recently a few days ago. You must have a negative test within 72 hours AND a vaccination card. Here is the link to the Italian Ministry of Health: https://www.salute.gov.it/portale/nuovocoronavirus/dettaglioContenutiNuovoCoronavirus.jsp?lingua=english&id=5412&area=nuovoCoronavirus&menu=vuoto&tab=6
A relarive just entered Italy via highway on public transportation and the vehicle never stopped at the border and drove right into Italy. Thus no checking was done for the COVID tests.
The Delta agent at check-in is the one who will verify your documents. We received the same message from Delta before our trip and the link provided above clearly states 72 hours. No one in Italy asked for our test result or PLF.
Wishing you a safe and enjoyable trip.
What kind of covid tests did people successfully use before flying to Italy recently (Drugstore appointment, telehealth, etc)? I am concerned with the new presidential mandates that tests could become scarcer or have longer turnaround times here in the US.
GPetty - We don’t leave for another 10 days or so, but I can tell you that COVID testing if NOT symptomatic (meaning for travel or return to work), was especially hard to find where we live, unless you wanted to pay a lot of money. We ended up calling some independent pharamacys in the area after getting told by CVS (the pharmacy with the lost locations where we are) that they wouldn’t even test us is we weren’t symptomatic). We found an independent pharmacy that offered rapid antigen tests for $24 and we plan to do that the day before we leave. We ruled out a PCR test in case it takes too long to get results back.
I’ve read that Walgreens offers a rapid PCR test with results in 24 hours, but for some reason our area didn’t offer them (only regular PCR tests, and most were showing 2-3 days for results, which was just cutting it too close for us).
Most urgent care centers around us also only tested if showing symptoms. The few that tested for travel wanted to charge upwards of $75 for a rapid antigen test (the test fee, plus an Urgent Care copay), but it was possible to do it through them if we wanted.
There are also the at-home rapid tests (the ones with the video conference are allowed for travel, from what I understand). Those can be pricey as well, but may be worth it for the convenience.
In a nutshell, I think it’s already getting harder to get tested so I would definitely research your options now. Hopefully this helps you! It seems largely dependent on the area, too. I wish the CVS’s around us would do rapid testing testing for travel, but they don’t - whereas some stories in larger cities DO offer it.
