Presidential DocumentExecutive Order 139982021-01859
Promoting COVID-19 Safety in Domestic and International Travel
Primary source
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Published
January 26, 2021
Signed
January 21, 2021
Issuing agencies
Executive Office of the President
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 15 (Tuesday, January 26, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 15 (Tuesday, January 26, 2021)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 7205-7208]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-01859]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 86 , No. 15 / Tuesday, January 26, 2021 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 7205]]
Executive Order 13998 of January 21, 2021
Promoting COVID-19 Safety in Domestic and
International Travel
By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of
America, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Policy. Science-based public health measures
are critical to preventing the spread of coronavirus
disease 2019 (COVID-19) by travelers within the United
States and those who enter the country from abroad. The
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the
Surgeon General, and the National Institutes of Health
have concluded that mask-wearing, physical distancing,
appropriate ventilation, and timely testing can
mitigate the risk of travelers spreading COVID-19.
Accordingly, to save lives and allow all Americans,
including the millions of people employed in the
transportation industry, to travel and work safely, it
is the policy of my Administration to implement these
public health measures consistent with CDC guidelines
on public modes of transportation and at ports of entry
to the United States.
Sec. 2. Immediate Action to Require Mask-Wearing on
Certain Domestic Modes of Transportation.
(a) Mask Requirement. The Secretary of Labor, the
Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), the
Secretary of Transportation (including through the
Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA)), the Secretary of Homeland Security (including
through the Administrator of the Transportation
Security Administration (TSA) and the Commandant of the
United States Coast Guard), and the heads of any other
executive departments and agencies (agencies) that have
relevant regulatory authority (heads of agencies) shall
immediately take action, to the extent appropriate and
consistent with applicable law, to require masks to be
worn in compliance with CDC guidelines in or on:
(i) airports;
(ii) commercial aircraft;
(iii) trains;
(iv) public maritime vessels, including ferries;
(v) intercity bus services; and
(vi) all forms of public transportation as defined in section 5302 of title
49, United States Code.
(b) Consultation. In implementing this section, the
heads of agencies shall consult, as appropriate, with
interested parties, including State, local, Tribal, and
territorial officials; industry and union
representatives from the transportation sector; and
consumer representatives.
(c) Exceptions. The heads of agencies may make
categorical or case-by-case exceptions to policies
developed under this section, consistent with
applicable law, to the extent that doing so is
necessary or required by law. If the heads of agencies
do make exceptions, they shall require alternative and
appropriate safeguards, and shall document all
exceptions in writing.
(d) Preemption. To the extent permitted by
applicable law, the heads of agencies shall ensure that
any action taken to implement this section
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does not preempt State, local, Tribal, and territorial
laws or rules imposing public health measures that are
more protective of public health than those required by
the heads of agencies.
(e) Coordination. The Coordinator of the COVID-19
Response and Counselor to the President (COVID-19
Response Coordinator) shall coordinate the
implementation of this section. The heads of agencies
shall update the COVID-19 Response Coordinator on their
progress in implementing this section, including any
categorical exceptions established under subsection (c)
of this section, within 7 days of the date of this
order and regularly thereafter. The heads of agencies
are encouraged to bring to the attention of the COVID-
19 Response Coordinator any questions regarding the
scope or implementation of this section.
Sec. 3. Action to Implement Additional Public Health
Measures for Domestic Travel.
(a) Recommendations. The Secretary of
Transportation (including through the Administrator of
the FAA) and the Secretary of Homeland Security
(including through the Administrator of the TSA and the
Commandant of the Coast Guard), in consultation with
the Director of CDC, shall promptly provide to the
COVID-19 Response Coordinator recommendations
concerning how their respective agencies may impose
additional public health measures for domestic travel.
(b) Consultation. In implementing this section, the
Secretary of Transportation and the Secretary of
Homeland Security shall engage with interested parties,
including State, local, Tribal, and territorial
officials; industry and union representatives from the
transportation sector; and consumer representatives.
Sec. 4. Support for State, Local, Tribal, and
Territorial Authorities. The COVID-19 Response
Coordinator, in coordination with the Secretary of
Transportation and the heads of any other relevant
agencies, shall promptly identify and inform agencies
of options to incentivize, support, and encourage
widespread mask-wearing and physical distancing on
public modes of transportation, consistent with CDC
guidelines and applicable law.
Sec. 5. International Travel.
(a) Policy. It is the policy of my Administration
that, to the extent feasible, travelers seeking to
enter the United States from a foreign country shall
be:
(i) required to produce proof of a recent negative COVID-19 test prior to
entry; and
(ii) required to comply with other applicable CDC guidelines concerning
international travel, including recommended periods of self-quarantine or
self-isolation after entry into the United States.
(b) Air Travel.
(i) The Secretary of HHS, including through the Director of CDC, and in
coordination with the Secretary of Transportation (including through the
Administrator of the FAA) and the Secretary of Homeland Security (including
through the Administrator of the TSA), shall, within 14 days of the date of
this order, assess the CDC order of January 12, 2021, regarding the
requirement of a negative COVID-19 test result for airline passengers
traveling into the United States, in light of subsection (a) of this
section. Based on such assessment, the Secretary of HHS and the Secretary
of Homeland Security shall take any further appropriate regulatory action,
to the extent feasible and consistent with CDC guidelines and applicable
law. Such assessment and regulatory action shall include consideration of:
(A) the timing and types of COVID-19 tests that should satisfy the
negative test requirement, including consideration of additional testing
immediately prior to departure;
(B) the proof of test results that travelers should be required to
provide;
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(C) the feasibility of implementing alternative and sufficiently
protective public health measures, such as testing, self-quarantine, and
self-isolation on arrival, for travelers entering the United States from
countries where COVID-19 tests are inaccessible, particularly where such
inaccessibility of tests would affect the ability of United States citizens
and lawful permanent residents to return to the United States; and
(D) measures to prevent fraud.
(ii) The Secretary of HHS, in coordination with the Secretary of
Transportation (including through the Administrator of the FAA) and the
Secretary of Homeland Security (including through the Administrator of the
TSA), shall promptly provide to the President, through the COVID-19
Response Coordinator, a plan for how the Secretary and other Federal
Government actors could implement the policy stated in subsection (a) of
this section with respect to CDC-recommended periods of self-quarantine or
self-isolation after a flight to the United States from a foreign country,
as he deems appropriate and consistent with applicable law. The plan shall
identify agencies' tools and mechanisms to assist travelers in complying
with such policy.
(iii) The Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of HHS
(including through the Director of CDC), the Secretary of Transportation
(including through the Administrator of the FAA), and the Secretary of
Homeland Security, shall seek to consult with foreign governments, the
World Health Organization, the International Civil Aviation Organization,
the International Air Transport Association, and any other relevant
stakeholders to establish guidelines for public health measures associated
with safe international travel, including on aircraft and at ports of
entry. Any such guidelines should address quarantine, testing, COVID-19
vaccination, follow-up testing and symptom-monitoring, air filtration
requirements, environmental decontamination standards, and contact tracing.
(c) Land Travel. The Secretary of State, in
consultation with the Secretary of HHS, the Secretary
of Transportation, the Secretary of Homeland Security,
and the Director of CDC, shall immediately commence
diplomatic outreach to the governments of Canada and
Mexico regarding public health protocols for land ports
of entry. Based on this diplomatic engagement, within
14 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of HHS
(including through the Director of CDC), the Secretary
of Transportation, and the Secretary of Homeland
Security shall submit to the President a plan to
implement appropriate public health measures at land
ports of entry. The plan should implement CDC
guidelines, consistent with applicable law, and take
into account the operational considerations relevant to
the different populations who enter the United States
by land.
(d) Sea Travel. The Secretary of Homeland Security,
through the Commandant of the Coast Guard and in
consultation with the Secretary of HHS and the Director
of CDC, shall, within 14 days of the date of this
order, submit to the President a plan to implement
appropriate public health measures at sea ports. The
plan should implement CDC guidelines, consistent with
applicable law, and take into account operational
considerations.
(e) International Certificates of Vaccination or
Prophylaxis. Consistent with applicable law, the
Secretary of State, the Secretary of HHS, and the
Secretary of Homeland Security (including through the
Administrator of the TSA), in coordination with any
relevant international organizations, shall assess the
feasibility of linking COVID-19 vaccination to
International Certificates of Vaccination or
Prophylaxis (ICVP) and producing electronic versions of
ICVPs.
(f) Coordination. The COVID-19 Response
Coordinator, in consultation with the Assistant to the
President for National Security Affairs and the
Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, shall
coordinate the implementation of this section. The
Secretary of State, the Secretary of HHS, the Secretary
of Transportation, and the Secretary of Homeland
Security shall
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update the COVID-19 Response Coordinator on their
progress in implementing this section within 7 days of
the date of this order and regularly thereafter. The
heads of all agencies are encouraged to bring to the
attention of the COVID-19 Response Coordinator any
questions regarding the scope or implementation of this
section.
Sec. 6. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order
shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or
the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with
applicable law and subject to the availability of
appropriations.
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not,
create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural,
enforceable at law or in equity by any party against
the United States, its departments, agencies, or
entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any
other person.
<GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT>
(Presidential Sig.)
THE WHITE HOUSE,
January 21, 2021.
[FR Doc. 2021-01859
Filed 1-25-21; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3295-F1-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on January 26, 2021.
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