Interim Final Rule: Control of Communicable Diseases: Foreign Quarantine

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published an interim final rule to amend its Foreign Quarantine regulations, to enable CDC to require airlines to collect, and provide to CDC, certain data regarding passengers and crew arriving from foreign countries for the purposes of health education, treatment, prophylaxis, or other appropriate public health interventions, including travel restrictions. This interim final rule was effective on February 7, 2020 and written comments were invited for submission before March 13, 2020. The interim final rule is published on the Office of the Federal Register’s websiteexternal icon.

Rescinding Order to Airlines Regarding the Collection of Passenger Information

On February 18, 2020, CDC issued an Order to airlines requiring them to collect and provide contact information to CDC about any passenger who had departed from, or was otherwise present within, the People’s Republic of China (excluding the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau) within 14 days of the person’s entry or attempted entry into the United States via that airline’s carriage. CDC has determined that this information is no longer required to be collected and provided to CDC by the subject airlines in the manner stipulated in the Order. The Order is rescindedexternal icon effective September 29, 2020.