Houston couple stranded in Mexico after testing positive for COVID-19 on an anniversary trip

Beginning in January 2021, the CDC began requiring travelers to undergo a negative COVID-19 test to return to the country. With vaccines on the rise and COVID-19 cases on a declining trend, travel companies say people are booking trips abroad again.

But many people are now trapped in other countries after testing positive for the virus, including Houston resident Antonio Delgado, who said he was stranded after he and his wife traveled to Mexico for their anniversary.

According to the CDC, no one can fly into the US until approved by a doctor or after showing a negative test three days before departure. In cases like Delgado’s, travelers have been told to isolate abroad for between 10 and 14 days.

COVID-19 is already widespread in the US, with more than 22 million cases to date. The new measures are designed to try to prevent travelers from bringing in newer forms of the virus that scientists say could spread more easily.

The CDC order applies to both US citizens and foreign travelers. International travel to the US has already been decimated by pandemic restrictions in place last March that banned most foreigners from Europe and other areas. According to trade group Airlines for America, in December 2020, trips by foreigners to the US and by Americans to international destinations were down 76% from a year earlier.

Airlines are instructed to stop passengers from boarding if they have no proof of a negative test.

“Testing does not eliminate all risks,” then CDC director Robert R. Redfield said in a statement last year. “But coupled with a stay at home period and everyday precautions, such as wearing masks and distance, it can make travel safer, healthier and more responsible by reducing the spread on planes, airports and destinations.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Follow Brhe Berry on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.