Travel industry leaders appeal to White House to end key COVID-19 requirement
旅遊業領導呼籲白宮終止主要新冠要求
The Biden administration should end its COVID-19 testing requirement for vaccinated passengers prior to traveling the U.S. because the virus is so widespread in states, travel industry leaders argued in a letter sent to the White House Wednesday.
拜登政府應該終止針對準備前往美國並已接種疫苗的乘客的新冠檢測要求，因為病毒在各州如此普遍，旅遊業領導在週三發給白宮的一封信中辯稱。
The letter was addressed to Jeffrey Zients, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, and said ending the requirement would support the recovery of the travel industry in the U.S. and not threaten public health.
這封信是寫給白宮新冠應對協調員Jeffrey Zients的，信中說，終止這一要求將支援美國旅遊業的復甦，不會威脅公共健康。
A departures board at Terminal 5 at London Heathrow Airport in London, U.K., on Monday, Nov. 8, 2021.Photographer:Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images (Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
2021年11月8日，星期一，英國倫敦希思羅機場5號航站樓的登機口。攝影師：Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images (Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
The travel sector in the U.S. has good reason to show signs of cautious optimism.Travel spending in the U.S. nearly reached pre-pandemic levels in December 2021, the U.S. Travel Association said.Total spending hit $92 billion, which the group said was just 2% below December 2019 totals.The group pointed out that there has been a recent slowdown, but there seems to be a pent-up demand for future travel.
美國旅遊業有充分的理由顯示出謹慎樂觀的跡象。美國旅遊協會表示，美國的旅遊支出在2021年12月幾乎達到了疫情前的水平。該組織表示，總支出達到920億美元，僅比2019年12月的總額低2%。該組織指出，雖然最近有所放緩，但對未來旅行似乎有被壓抑的需求。
A passenger puts his carry-on luggage into an overhead compartment at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City.(Photo by Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images) (Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images)
紐約市約翰·肯尼迪國際機場，一名乘客將隨身行李放入頭頂的行李艙。(Photo by Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images) (Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images)
There is also room for growth for international travel.The report said overseas arrivals were still 51% below levels compared to December 2019.
國際旅行也有增長空間。報告稱，與2019年12月的水平相比，海外入境人數仍低51%。
The letter to Zients, who was the director of the National Economic Council under former President Obama, pointed out that more than 74.3 million Americans have had COVID-19 and also mentioned the record numbers coming down with the omicron variant.They see air travel as having little impact on infection rates.
在寫給曾任前總統奧巴馬任內國家經濟委員會主任的Zients的信中指出，超過7,430萬美國人感染新冠，信中還提到奧密克戎變種帶來的創紀錄數字。他們認為航空旅行對感染率影響不大。
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"No new threatening variants appear to be imminent, but if they were, pre-departure testing could be easily reinstituted," the letter, which was signed by Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Aerospace Industries Association and others.
這封信由西南航空飛行員協會、美國商會、航空航天工業協會等簽署，信中寫道：“似乎不會有新的威脅變體出現，但如果有，起飛前檢測可以很容易地重新啟動。”
