A senior US public health official on Tuesday said the coronavirus testing the US requires for travelers from Britain should probably be extended to other countries as well. “I think that probably should be extended to other countries,” US Assistant Secretary for Health Brett Giroir said. The US government on Monday began requiring all airline passengers arriving from the United Kingdom - including US citizens - to test negative for COVID-19 within 72 hours of departure, amid concerns about a new coronavirus variant that may be more transmissible. The decision was a turnaround after the Trump administration had told US airlines it was not planning to require testing for arriving UK passengers. The administration is holding some discussions with US airlines about the possibility of expanding testing regimes, but no decisions have been made, officials said. United Airlines sent a memo to President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team on Tuesday calling for a White House task force to restore air travel safely and arguing for “passenger testing as an alternative to travel restrictions.” The memo, obtained by Reuters, says “by advancing safe alternatives to travel restrictions, the White House Task Force would help restore US global leadership in public health while re-establishing critical linkages between economies, communities, businesses and families around the globe.”<br/>
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Taiwan’s EVA Airways Corp said Tuesday it had sacked four pilots and four cabin crew since March for breaching rules related to preventing COVID-19 infections, adding that it was committed to enforcing anti-pandemic measures. Last week the company said it had fired a New Zealand national who had worked as one of its pilots after the government blamed him for Taiwan’s first domestic transmission since April 12. The case ignited public anger after the government said he had not reported all his contacts and the places he had been, nor worn a face mask in the cockpit when he should have. EVA Air said that since March it had sacked eight employees - four pilots and four cabin crew - for “regretfully breaching anti-pandemic rules”, though it did not give details. “EVA Air always attaches great importance to discipline, and the vast majority of crew members on the front line of duty face transportation and epidemic prevention tasks with a cautious and serious attitude,” it added. “EVA Air’s position on strictly following epidemic prevention has never changed.” <br/>
EgyptAir has said it will fly to Saudi Arabia to bring back home Egyptians stranded there amid travel restrictions prompted by the global coronavirus outbreak. Saudi Arabia Monday extended suspension of international flights for one more week as part of measures to prevent the spread of a new strain of COVID-19. However, the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation has allowed airlines operating in the kingdom to operate flights to transport non-Saudi passengers to outside the kingdom. EgyptAir head Rushdy Zakaria said that the airline will fly to Saudi Arabia to carry Egyptians stranded there. “The planes will fly without any passengers from Cairo to bring back passengers from there after the kingdom has allowed entry of aircraft to carry non-Saudis only,” he said. “There will be no increase in ticket prices to compensate the vacant flights,” Zakaria added.<br/>