Yea! No negative test to get into USA.

Just read that too! In Paris and now don’t have to worry!

I just saw it on MSNBC.

Are people reading the entire report about this because you have to keep in mind that the CDC can revoke this AT ANY TIME. Moreover, this will be in effect for only 90 days as it will be reassessed to see if it continues. So travel as if this could be revoked so you will have a Plan B in case it is revoked.

Oh yay! People can now come home sick! The return testing was one reason we decided to travel this year.

I am a happy camper on this one. Starts on Sunday at 12:01am. One less thing to worry about.

Great news. Too late for me, but great news regardless.

"90 days re-evaluation" ... Has there ever been an edict that didn't carry this provision?

Keep focusing on the positive.

@Diane, say you fly from your home airport to JFK to Berlin. No one on your flight from your home airport to JFK is required to test negative, be vaccinated, or wear a mask on the plane or in the aiport.
Then you don't have to present a negative test to enter Germany any more. You may not even have to be vaccinated; their rules are about to change or have just changed. You probably don't have to wear a mask on the flight, either.
In that scenario, there's really no point in requiring you to have a negative test to fly back to the US. Obviously, by the time you are ready to come home, you've had multiple opportunities to be exposed. Even if the requirement were still in place, it would be doing nothing to protect you at that point.

You don’t test to protect yourself, you test to protect others from you. So yes there’s a point to testing😂

Just speculating but, judging from the comments on this forum, I suspect most people who might voluntarily self-test positive for COVID the day before their flight, will nonetheless get on the plane and spread their joy with fellow unmasked passengers.

Well, since you don't have to test on the way over, or probably even wear a mask, or maybe not even be vaccinated depending on the country, testing to go home seems pointless to me. If one is so worried about getting sick, it would make sense to stay off a flight out of the country to begin with - or for that matter, any flight anywhere - and not count on testing on the way home to protect anyone.

At least the testing requirement on day 1 of the RS tours is still in place. I hope they keep that, as it seems very sensible. We're all vaccinated and boosted and will mask and will distance but all the safe guards are reassuring.

I suppose if I was a person to "voluntarily" self test before a flight, I would not be the person to end up positive and still fly without a mask.

On the other hand, if masks are effective, I could just wear a mask on the flight and be home in a day.

"Oh yay! People can now come home sick! The return testing was one reason we decided to travel this year. "

That's why God made N95 masks

Being tested merely 1 day before to flying was giving people false information regarding whether they were traveling with Covid or not as it can take up to 5 days for Covid to manifest itself. Moreover, arriving in the US by boat, car, or train had no such 1 day negative Covid test requirement and the CDC had no problem with that.

RS Tours require a negative test on day 1. What happens if you test positive? I'm assuming you can't take the tour.

Do you get reimbursed by the tour company? How about your airfare? Or do you have to deal with your own insurance for this? Do they offer insurance that will cover everything or do you have to have your own?

What if you signed up for a tour when there was no requirement for a Day 1 test but it was implemented afterward. Are you entitled to a refund since they have put a requirement on the tour that you did not agree with and are not legal requirements?

Are there requirements in writing as to when you have to test while on tour? Who makes that decision?

Frank II

What happens if you test positive? I'm assuming you can't take the tour.

You cannot join the tour and RSE refunds you your tour cost. Also if you test positive during the tour, you cannot continue with the tour and RSE refunds your on a prorated basis.

Do you get reimbursed by the tour company? How about your airfare? Or do you have to deal with your own insurance for this? Do they offer insurance that will cover everything or do you have to have your own?

You need travel insurance for airfare and other expenses. Many companies sell this insurance which covers trip interruption

What if you signed up for a tour when there was no requirement for a Day 1 test but it was implemented afterward. Are you entitled to a refund since they have put a requirement on the tour that you did not agree with and are not legal requirements?
Are there requirements in writing as to when you have to test while on tour? Who makes that decision?

The COVID requirements are given to you when you sign up and include such language that they can add / change requirements as the situation merits. You can view the current requirements here: https://www.ricksteves.com//tours/covid-information

Overall I think RSE is doing the best they can given the circumstances. The other option is to shutdown tours as they did in 2020 and 2021 which probably would not fare well for the company overall. They have elected to allow tours with the best balance on mitigation they have. Testing pre tour is reasonable. Masking where necessary (while I dont like it) is reasonable. Travel has risks, you cannot eliminate them all...

Not sure that is really a Yea! We just returned from a trip, 18 people in our group. Two tested positive the first day, at least another 3 on the test before we traveled home. These are all people who would have been traveling with us on tour and on the plane with us going home. Great protocol as far as masking on the bus, mostly outdoor dining and most in our group were good about masking any time we were at museums etc. Requirements have all been lifted in Italy. This stuff is rampant still.

My flight over required that everyone remains masked at all times and I hope that it stays that way coming back to the states. If the requirement of the test were still in place, half our tour group would not be traveling home. Our group followed the rules and still got hit hard.
Be smart, be safe.