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There’s no denying that Americans are not as free as we once were to travel around the country since the COVID-19 pandemic started. Many states have implemented rules stating that visitors from certain other states have to quarantine for a couple of weeks—or produce proof that they aren’t infected—before they’re permitted to interact with residents. While it’s debatable how enforceable those rules are, it’s certain they put a damper on plans for anything beyond essential travel. As with other aspects of opening up the economy and the country, urgent care is fulfilling an essential need to get air travel going again, safely. CityHealth Urgent Care is about to start offering rapid-result tests to workers and the public at Oakland (CA) International Airport, at no charge to the patient. Meanwhile, United Airlines announced it’s going to start facilitating on-site COVID-19 tests for patients heading to Hawaii in support of the state’s recently relaxed travel restrictions. Previously, all visitors to the Aloha State had to quarantine for 14 days whether they had been tested or COVID-19 recently or not. Now they’ll allow visitors to skip quarantine if they have a negative test within 72 hours of arrival. So, United opted to work with GoHealth Urgent Care and Dignity Health to offer Hawaii-bound passengers rapid-result tests.

Urgent Care Is Making Air Travel Safer—and the Country More Accessible—During the Pandemic