[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 212 (Friday, November 5, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61246-61252]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-24386]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


Requirement for Airlines and Operators To Collect and Transmit 
Designated Information for Passengers and Crew Arriving Into the United 
States; Requirement for Passengers To Provide Designated Information

AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of 
Health and Human Services (HHS).

ACTION: Notice of agency order.

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SUMMARY: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a 
component of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), 
announces the requirement for all airlines and operators to collect 
and/or maintain passenger and crew contact information (designated 
information), and for passengers to provide such information to 
airlines and operators, on flights arriving into the United States. 
This includes flights with intermediate stops in the United States 
between the flight's foreign point of origin and the final destination. 
Unless otherwise transmitted to the U.S. Government via established 
U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) data systems, airlines and 
operators are required to retain the designated information for 30 days 
and transmit it within 24 hours of a request from CDC. Accurate and 
complete contact information is needed to protect the health of 
travelers and U.S. communities and for the purposes of public health 
follow-up.

DATES: This Order is effective beginning 12:01 a.m. Eastern Standard 
Time on November 8, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jennifer Buigut, Division of Global 
Migration and Quarantine, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 
1600 Clifton Road, NE, MS H16-4, Atlanta, GA 30329. Telephone: 404-498-
1600. Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has spread 
globally. As of October 22, 2021, there were over 242,000,000 confirmed 
cases of COVID-19 globally resulting in over 4,900,000 deaths; more 
than 45,000,000 cases have been confirmed in the U.S., with new cases 
being reported daily, and over 733,000 U.S. deaths due to the disease.
    In addition, genetic variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes 
COVID-19, have been emerging and circulating around the world 
throughout the pandemic. The Delta variant now makes up over 99% of 
cases in the United States and is two times as contagious as previous 
variants. Some of the potential features and consequences of emerging 
variants are their ability to spread more quickly in people, cause more 
severe effects in people, evade detection by specific viral diagnostic 
tests, diminish the efficacy of therapeutic agents such as monoclonal 
antibodies, and evade natural or vaccine-induced immunity. Preventing 
the importation and spread of SARS-CoV-2 variants and other 
communicable diseases of concern requires identifying and contacting 
travelers who may be infected with, or have been exposed to, 
communicable diseases.
    Air travel may potentially continue the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and 
its variants as well as other communicable diseases rapidly around the 
globe, as infected people who may be sick or incubating infection 
travel to other countries from a country where a disease is spreading. 
Timely public health follow-up requires health officials to have 
immediate access to accurate and complete contact information for 
passengers as they arrive in the United States. Inaccurate or 
incomplete contact information hampers the ability of public health 
authorities to protect the health of passengers and the public. The 
best way to ensure airline passengers' contact information is available 
in real time is to collect the information before they board a flight. 
CDC identified the following information as needed for reliable public 
health management of travelers: full name, address while in the United 
States, primary contact phone number, secondary or emergency contact 
phone number, email address, date of birth, airline name, flight 
number, city of departure, departure date and time, city of arrival, 
arrival date and time, and seat number.
    A copy of the Order is provided below and a copy of the signed 
Order and Technical Instructions can be found at https://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/order-collect-contact-info.html.

Order of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of 
Health and Human Services

Requirement for Airlines and Operators To Collect and Transmit 
Designated Information for Passengers and Crew Arriving Into the United 
States; Requirement for Passengers To Provide Designated Information 
Under 42 CFR 71.4, 71.20, 71.31, and 71.32 as Authorized by 42 U.S.C. 
264 and 268

Attention

     All airlines and operators conducting any passenger-
carrying operations into the United States from a foreign last point of 
departure.
     All passengers and crewmembers flying into, or transiting 
through, the United States from a foreign last point of departure.

Introduction

    The Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
(CDC) (Director) is issuing this Order (Order) to require all airlines 
and operators of flights arriving into the United States from a foreign 
last point of departure to collect and/or maintain passenger and 
crewmember contact information (``designated information''). These 
requirements also apply to flights with intermediate stops in the 
United States between the flight's foreign point of origin and the 
final destination.
    Airlines and operators are required to collect the five data 
elements from the interim final rule (IFR) \1\ published on February 
12, 2020, from passengers, to the extent they exist, and to maintain 
additional data elements outlined in 42 CFR 71.4(b) \2\--to the extent 
that such data are already available and maintained by the airline. The 
data elements from the IFR and the additional data elements outlined in 
42 CFR 71.4(b) make up the designated information referred to in this 
Order. The designated information consists of full name, address while 
in the United States, primary contact phone number, secondary or 
emergency contact phone number, email address, date of birth, airline 
name, flight number, city of departure, departure date and time, city 
of arrival, arrival date and time, and seat number. Airlines and 
operators are

[[Page 61247]]

required to maintain the designated information for crewmembers.
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    \1\ https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/02/12/2020-02731/control-of-communicable-diseases-foreign-quarantine.
    \2\ https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-42/chapter-I/subchapter-F/part-71#p-71.4(b).
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    These data elements are necessary for identifying and locating 
passengers and crewmembers who may have coronavirus disease 2019 
(COVID-19) or may have been exposed to a person with COVID-19 or 
another communicable disease of concern. Unless otherwise transmitted 
to the U.S. Government via established U.S. Department of Homeland 
Security (DHS) data systems, airlines and operators are required to 
retain the designated information for 30 days and transmit it within 24 
hours of a request from CDC. The methods of transmission to the U.S. 
Government, whether transmitted per the CDC technical instructions or 
whether via an established DHS data system, must be made through 
approved secure electronic means.
    Flights contracted by the U.S. Military services are exempt from 
this Order. Flights contracted by other federal agencies may also be 
exempted by CDC on a case-by-case basis. Flights designated as state 
aircraft under international law (1) by an appropriate United States 
federal government department or agency, or (2) by a foreign government 
and granted diplomatic clearance to enter U.S. airspace, are exempt 
from this Order. All exempt aircraft and persons may voluntarily comply 
to aid the public health response.
    CDC will issue additional operational guidance and technical 
instructions to airlines and operators regarding the collection, 
retention, and transmission of the designated information. CDC will 
maintain and use the designated information called for in this Order in 
accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a) and its 
applicable System of Records Notice.\3\
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    \3\ https://www.cdc.gov/sornnotice/09-20-0171.htm.
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Background

    The current COVID-19 pandemic has spread globally, including cases 
reported in all 50 States within the United States, the District of 
Columbia, and U.S. territories. As of October 22, 2021, there have been 
over 242,000,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 globally resulting in over 
4,900,000 deaths; \4\ more than 45,000,000 COVID-19 cases have been 
confirmed in the United States as well as over 733,000 COVID-19 related 
deaths, with new cases being reported daily.\5\
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    \4\ https://covid19.who.int/.
    \5\ https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#datatracker-home.
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    In addition, genetic variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes 
COVID-19, have been emerging and circulating around the world 
throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.\6\ There is currently one variant of 
concern (Delta) circulating in the United States and ten other variants 
being monitored.\7\ As of October 22, 2021, the Delta variant made up 
over 99.0% of new COVID-19 cases in the United States.\8\ CDC is 
closely tracking and reporting variants of SARS-CoV-2 around the world 
\9\ and is working with state and local health departments to establish 
and expand sequencing capacity to identify, characterize, and report 
variants.
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    \6\ https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/variants/index.html.
    \7\ https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/variants/variant-info.html.
    \8\ https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#variant-proportions.
    \9\ https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#global-variant-report-map.
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    Some of the potential features and consequences of emerging 
variants are their ability to spread more quickly in people, cause more 
severe effects in people, evade detection by specific viral diagnostic 
tests, diminish the efficacy of therapeutic agents such as monoclonal 
antibodies, and evade natural or vaccine-induced immunity.\10\ The 
Delta variant spreads faster than other variants and may cause more 
severe illness in unvaccinated people than previous strains.\11\ COVID-
19 vaccines protect people against severe illness, including disease 
caused by the Delta variant and other variants circulating in the 
United States, decreasing the likelihood of hospitalization or death 
due to COVID-19. Fully vaccinated people get COVID-19 less often than 
unvaccinated people; however, people who are infected after being fully 
vaccinated can be contagious.\12\ Preventing the further importation 
and spread of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern will require rapid 
identification and notification of potentially infected or exposed 
travelers (passengers and crew) so that they and their respective 
jurisdictional public health officials may take steps to minimize 
exposure to others.
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    \10\ https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/science/science-briefs/scientific-brief-emerging-variants.html.
    \11\ https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/variants/delta-variant.html.
    \12\ https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/effectiveness/why-measure-effectiveness/breakthrough-cases.html.
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    While vaccination is the most important tool for controlling the 
pandemic, public health mitigation efforts, including isolation of 
infected persons and contact tracing and management, remain key to 
slowing transmission and spread of SARS-CoV-2, even as vaccines are 
increasingly available in the United States and around the world. Air 
travel may contribute to the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and other 
communicable diseases around the globe if people who are infected or 
incubating infection travel by aircraft, particularly if they fail to 
use mitigation measures such as masks to prevent COVID-19. Air travel 
can also increase a person's risk of getting and spreading communicable 
diseases by bringing people in close contact with others, often for 
prolonged periods, and exposing them to frequently touched surfaces. 
While fully vaccinated travelers are less likely to get and transmit 
SARS-CoV-2, international travel poses additional risks, and even fully 
vaccinated travelers might be at increased risk for getting and 
possibly spreading some SARS-CoV-2 variants.\13\
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    \13\ https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/international-travel-during-covid19.html.
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    Public health officials may need to follow up with travelers after 
arrival, either because these travelers may have been exposed before 
they traveled or because during travel they were possibly exposed to a 
person known to have a communicable disease that poses a public health 
threat, such as COVID-19. Other communicable diseases for which CDC 
conducts contact investigations of exposure while traveling on aircraft 
are infectious tuberculosis (including multidrug-resistant and 
extensively drug-resistant infections), measles, pertussis (whooping 
cough), meningococcal disease, and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome 
(MERS).\14\ \15\ \16\ \17\ Similarly, preventing the further 
importation and spread of SARS-CoV-2, including variants of concern, 
requires rapid identification and notification of potentially infected 
or exposed travelers so that they and their respective jurisdictional 
public health officials can take steps to minimize exposure to others.
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    \14\ https://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/contact-investigation.html.
    \15\ Nelson K, Marienau K, Schembri C, Redd S. Measles 
transmission during air travel, United States, December 1, 2008-
December 31, 2011. Travel Med Infect Dis. 2013 Mar-Apr;11(2):81-9. 
doi: 10.1016/j.tmaid.2013.03.007.
    \16\ Marienau KJ, Cramer EH, Coleman MS, Marano N, Cetron MS. 
Flight related tuberculosis contact investigations in the United 
States: comparative risk and economic analysis of alternate 
protocols. Travel Med Infect Dis. 2014 Jan-Feb;12(1):54-62. doi: 
10.1016/j.tmaid.2013.09.007.
    \17\ Lippold SA, Objio T, Vonnahme L, et al. Conveyance Contact 
Investigation for Imported Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Cases, 
United States, May 2014. Emerg Infect Dis. 2017 Sep;23(9):1585-1589. 
doi: 10.3201/eid2309.170365.

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[[Page 61248]]

    In the past, public health efforts to follow up with travelers 
arriving into the United States have been hampered by incomplete or 
inaccurate contact information, causing delays in conducting contact 
investigations and requiring resource-intensive entry screening 
operations to facilitate post-arrival management of travelers.\18\ \19\ 
\20\ These challenges occurred during the 2014 response to MERS, the 
2014-2016 response to the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, and in the 
early stage of the current COVID-19 public health emergency. Timely 
public health follow-up requires health officials to have prompt access 
to accurate and complete contact information for travelers traveling 
into, or transiting through, the United States. Inaccurate or 
incomplete contact information decreases the ability of public health 
authorities to protect the health of travelers and the public. The best 
way to ensure airline passengers' contact information is available in 
real time is to collect the information before they board a flight. 
Given that it is impossible to predict which passengers' or 
crewmembers' information will be needed for public health purposes, it 
is necessary to collect information for all passengers and crewmembers 
originating abroad who intend to travel to, or transit through, the 
United States. Additionally, many passengers transiting through the 
United States will likely transit back through the United States on 
their return trip. If they were exposed during travel, they may return 
at a time when they are infectious. Facilitating notification to public 
health authorities at their final destination would prevent potential 
exposures during such return travel.
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    \18\ Regan JJ, Jungerman MR, Lippold SA, et al. Tracing Airline 
Travelers for a Public Health Investigation: Middle East Respiratory 
Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) Infection in the United States, 
2014. Public Health Rep. 2016 Jul-Aug;131(4):552-9. doi: 0.1177/
0033354916662213.
    \19\ Cohen NJ, Brown CM, Alvarado-Ramy F, et al. Travel and 
Border Health Measures to Prevent the International Spread of Ebola. 
MMWR Suppl. 2016 Jul 8;65(3):57-67. doi: 10.15585/mmwr.su6503a9.
    \20\ Dollard P, Griffin I, Berro A, et al. Risk Assessment and 
Management of COVID-19 Among Travelers Arriving at Designated U.S. 
Airports, January 17-September 13, 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 
2020 Nov 13;69(45):1681-1685. doi: 10.15585/mmwr.mm6945a4.
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    CDC identified that the following information is needed for 
reliable public health management of travelers disembarking in, or 
transiting through, the United States: Full name, address while in the 
United States, primary contact phone number, secondary or emergency 
contact phone number, email address, date of birth, airline name, 
flight number, city of departure, departure date and time, city of 
arrival, arrival date and time, and seat number.
    CDC's authority for collecting these data elements is contained in 
42 CFR 71.4.\21\ The first five data elements were added to section 
71.4 on February 12, 2020, in response to the current COVID 
pandemic.\22\ Airlines with flights arriving into the United States 
must collect and, within 24 hours of an order issued by the CDC 
Director, transmit these five data elements to CDC. The remaining data 
elements, listed in 42 CFR 71.4(b), are part of CDC's previously 
existing regulatory scheme. Airlines must also transmit these data 
elements to CDC within 24 hours of an order, to the extent such data 
elements are already available and maintained by the airline.
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    \21\ https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-42/chapter-I/subchapter-F/part-71#71.4.
    \22\ https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/02/12/2020-02731/control-of-communicable-diseases-foreign-quarantine.
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    Identifying individual COVID-19 cases and conducting contact 
tracing continue to be an important strategy in preventing 
opportunities for the virus to spread and mutate, particularly to 
prevent the spread of variants of COVID-19 that are not already 
prevalent in the United States. Even as more people become fully 
vaccinated, sub-populations of unvaccinated people and others 
vulnerable to infection will remain, including people who elect not to 
be vaccinated, those ineligible for vaccination (currently young 
children), people with contraindications to vaccination, and people at 
increased risk for severe illness (including some who may be fully 
vaccinated, such as those with certain immunocompromising conditions). 
In areas where spread of the virus has been controlled, rapid 
identification of imported cases and containment of further 
transmission through nonpharmaceutical interventions, including 
isolation of infected people and quarantine of susceptible close 
contacts, will be essential to prevent resurgence of local epidemics 
and ultimately end the pandemic.
    CDC has taken a variety of additional steps to mitigate the risk 
that travel poses to the further spread of SARS-CoV-2 and the 
introduction of its variants into the United States. On October 25, 
2021, CDC amended an Order requiring all air passengers two years of 
age and older traveling to the United States from any foreign country 
to be tested for SARS-CoV-2 either no more than three days prior to 
their flight, for those who are fully vaccinated, or no more than one 
day prior to their flight, for those who are not fully vaccinated. Air 
passengers may alternatively present documentation of having recovered 
from COVID-19 in the previous 3 months.\23\ On October 25, 2021, CDC 
also issued an Order implementing a Presidential Proclamation requiring 
all noncitizens who are nonimmigrants, with limited exceptions, to be 
fully vaccinated in order to fly into the United States from any 
foreign country. On January 29, 2021, CDC issued an Order requiring the 
wearing of masks by persons on any conveyance entering, traveling 
within, or departing the United States and at U.S. transportation hubs 
to prevent further spread of SARS-CoV-2.\24\ In addition, CDC has 
posted Level 4 Travel Notices recommending travelers avoid all non-
essential travel to more than 150 countries worldwide because of very 
high rates of COVID-19 in these countries.\25\ This Order aligns with 
these new and existing public health mitigation actions.
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    \23\ 86 FR 7387 and https://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/fr-proof-negative-test.html..
    \24\ 86 FR 8025 and https://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/masks/mask-travel-guidance.html..
    \25\ https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/noticescovid19.
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Scope of the Order

    This Order applies to all passengers and passenger-carrying 
operations arriving into the United States from a foreign last point of 
departure (including flights with intermediate stops in the United 
States between the flight's foreign point of origin and the final 
destination). Where appropriate, CDC has used Federal Aviation 
Administration or Department of Transportation regulatory references 
for ease of reference for the affected industry. As used in the Order, 
the terms described below have their given meanings.
    This Order imposes obligations on ``airlines'', ``operators,'' 
``passengers,'' and ``crewmembers.'' ``Airlines'' has the same meaning 
as in 42 CFR 71.1(b), which includes ``air carriers'' and ``foreign air 
carriers'' providing ``air transportation'' as those terms are defined 
in 49 U.S.C. 40102(a)(2), (a)(5), and (a)(21). An ``operator'' is any 
person \26\ that operates an aircraft. To ``operate'' an aircraft means 
to use, cause to use, or authorize to use aircraft for the purpose of 
air navigation. ``Operate'' includes piloting an aircraft, with or 
without the right of legal control (as owner, lessee, or otherwise). An

[[Page 61249]]

operator can be any person such as an air carrier, a commercial 
operator (as defined in 14 CFR 1.1), or a non-certificated party. 
``Passenger'' means any person who is not a crewmember on any aircraft 
operation carrying any person (``passenger-carrying operation''). 
``Crewmember'' means a person assigned to perform duty in an aircraft 
during flight time.
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    \26\ A ``person'' is ``an individual, firm, partnership, 
corporation, company, association, joint-stock association, or 
governmental entity. It includes a trustee, receiver, assignee, or 
similar representative of any of them.'' 14 CFR 1.1.
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    Passengers must provide the designated information, to the extent 
it exists, to airlines and operators. Airlines and operators must 
collect the designated information from passengers and retain it for 30 
days from the flight's departure unless it is otherwise transmitted to 
the U.S. Government. CDC is requiring a retention period of 30 days 
because it can take up to 30 days for CDC to receive genetic sequencing 
information identifying a SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern for which 
contact tracing beyond the 14-day incubation period of COVID-19 may be 
warranted. The incubation periods for measles, whooping cough, 
meningococcal disease, Ebola, and MERS--other communicable diseases for 
which CDC conducts contact investigations--are all less than 30 days.
    Airlines or operators that enter into a contract with U.S. Military 
services to provide transportation to persons designated by U.S. 
Military services are exempt from the Order. CDC is exempting these 
operations because U.S. Military service's standard practice is to 
collect and retain the designated information and conduct any necessary 
public health follow-up for passengers on the aircraft that operate in 
accordance with the U.S. Military service contract with the airline or 
operator. Airlines and operators that contract with other U.S. 
Government agencies may be eligible for an exemption on a case-by-case 
basis if the U.S. Government agency submits a request to CDC and agrees 
to CDC's required public health conditions, including conducting 
necessary public health follow-up for passengers. But, in these 
instances, the U.S. Government agency that is a party to such a 
contract shall conduct any necessary public health follow-up for 
passengers and crew. Flights designated as state aircraft under 
international law (1) by an appropriate United States federal 
government department or agency, or (2) by a foreign government and 
granted diplomatic clearance to enter U.S. airspace, are exempt from 
this Order.
    This Order does not alter or affect the requirements under 42 CFR 
71.21 that airlines and operators, including Air Medical Transport 
services, report to CDC any deaths or illnesses onboard flights 
destined for a U.S. airport.\27\ As part of the reporting of any death 
or illness onboard, passenger contact information must be collected and 
reported in real time to CDC, in addition to any data transmission 
required under this Order.\28\
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    \27\ https://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/air/reporting-deaths-illness/guidance-reporting-onboard-deaths-illnesses.html.
    \28\ https://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/air/reporting-deaths-illness/.
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Determinations and Immediate Action

    Accordingly, and consistent with 42 CFR 71.4, 71.20, 71.31, and 
71.32, I hereby find that international travel into the United States 
has the potential to exacerbate and accelerate the introduction of 
SARS-CoV-2 variants not already present (along with other communicable 
diseases) and that the scope of this pandemic is inherently and 
necessarily a problem that is global in nature. The collection and 
transmission of information required by this Order is therefore 
necessary to prevent the further introduction, transmission, or spread 
of COVID-19 via air travel into and throughout the United States. The 
requirements of this Order will enable prompt public health follow-up 
by public health jurisdictions, allowing them to quickly implement 
public health mitigation efforts such as isolation of infected persons 
and contact tracing and management of people exposed to a communicable 
disease of concern.
    In addition, I hereby determine that passengers and crewmembers on 
flights covered by this Order are or may be at risk of exposure to 
SARS-CoV-2 and may further the introduction and spread of SARS-CoV-2 
variants and other communicable diseases into the United States. Their 
accurate and complete contact information as provided for in this Order 
is needed to protect the health of other travelers and U.S. 
communities.
    The CDC has determined that this Order is not a rule within the 
meaning of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) but rather an 
emergency action taken under the existing regulatory authority of 42 
CFR 71.4, 71.20, 71.31, and 71.32. The purpose of these sections is to 
enable CDC to swiftly take targeted actions within the scope of these 
authorities to prevent the introduction and spread of communicable 
diseases. Indeed, in response to the current pandemic, CDC published an 
interim final rule (IFR) \29\ for public comment on February 12, 2020, 
establishing the requirements in 42 CFR 71.4 \30\ to collect and 
transmit designated information upon an order issued by the CDC 
Director.
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    \29\ https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/02/12/2020-02731/control-of-communicable-diseases-foreign-quarantine.
    \30\ https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-42/chapter-I/subchapter-F/part-71#71.4.
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Good Cause

    In the event that a court finds this Order qualifies as a rule 
under the APA, there is good cause to dispense with prior notice and 
comment and a delay in effective date. See 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), (d)(3). 
As more fully explained below, I have determined that good cause exists 
because the public health emergency caused by COVID-19 and the 
unpredictability of virus mutations and the recent course of the 
pandemic make notice-and-comment rulemaking impracticable and contrary 
to the public health, and by extension the public interest.
    The rapidly changing nature of the pandemic requires not only that 
CDC act swiftly, but also deftly, to ensure that its actions are 
commensurate with the threat. Given the current case rates and other 
disease mitigation measures that federal, state, and local 
jurisdictions are taking across the country, identifying individual 
cases and conducting contact tracing are critical public health actions 
urgently needed to prevent opportunities for the virus to spread and 
further mutate.
    The emergence of variants, particularly the Delta variant, has 
demonstrated the unpredictability of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the 
COVID-19 pandemic and has shown how COVID-19 case rates, 
hospitalizations, and deaths can increase rapidly when a new variant 
emerges. For example, the Delta variant is more than two times as 
contagious as previous variants and has spread faster than earlier 
variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.\31\ The share of infections from the 
Delta variant in the United States on May 29, 2021, was under 7%, at a 
point when the trajectory of the pandemic seemed for the better, but by 
July 31, 2021, the share of infections with the Delta variant surpassed 
94%.\32\ In late June, the 7-day moving average of reported cases was 
only around 12,000. By July 27, just 4 weeks later, the 7-day moving 
average of cases had increased fivefold and reached over 60,000, a rate 
similar to the rate before COVID-19 vaccines were widely available. 
Between July and September, the spread of the Delta variant caused a 
rapid increase in hospitalizations and deaths, especially

[[Page 61250]]

in areas with higher levels of community transmission and lower 
vaccination coverage.33 34 The 7-day average for August 4-
August 10 for new hospital admissions was a 29.6% increase from the 
prior 7-day average. The 7-day average for new deaths increased 21% 
compared to the previous 7-day average. As of October 24, 2021, COVID-
19 cases were declining; however, a majority of the United States is 
still experiencing high community transmission. There have been 
multiple points throughout the COVID-19 pandemic when cases have 
swiftly and unexpectedly surged and then declined; therefore, the 
rapidly changing, unpredictable nature of the COVID-19 pandemic compels 
CDC to act quickly.
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    \31\ https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/variants/delta-variant.html.
    \32\ https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#variant-proportions.
    \33\ https://gis.cdc.gov/grasp/covidnet/COVID19_5.html.
    \34\ https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#trends_dailydeaths.
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    With high transmission rates and low vaccination rates in areas of 
the United States and around the world, new SARS-CoV-2 variants are 
expected to occur. New variants may be more transmissible or cause more 
severe disease, and vaccines and therapeutics may be less effective 
against these strains. The best way to slow the emergence of new 
variants is to act quickly to reduce the spread of infection through 
vaccination layered with additional mitigation measures, including 
timely and effective case detection and contact tracing and public 
health follow-up of international travelers.
    For these reasons, I hereby conclude that notice-and-comment 
rulemaking and a delay in the effective date or the Order would defeat 
the purpose of the Order and endanger the public health, and is, 
therefore, impracticable and contrary to the public interest. CDC may 
exercise its enforcement discretion with respect to airlines and 
operators who are unable to come into compliance on November 8, 2021 
despite demonstrated good faith efforts to do so.

Miscellaneous

    Similarly, if this Order qualifies as a rule under the APA, the 
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) has determined that 
it would be a major rule under Subtitle E of the Small Business 
Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 (the Congressional Review 
Act or CRA), 5 U.S.C. 804(2). Regardless of whether this Order 
qualifies as a rule under the APA, OIRA has determined that it is an 
economically significant regulatory action under the definitions 
provided for those terms in Executive Order 12866. Thus, this action 
has been reviewed by OIRA. CDC has determined that for the same reasons 
given above, there would be good cause under the CRA to make the 
requirements herein effective immediately. 5 U.S.C. 808(2). This Order 
will cease to be in effect on the earlier of (1) the date that is two 
incubation periods after the last known case of COVID-19, or (2) when 
the Secretary determines there is no longer a need for the interim 
final rule (IFR) \35\ published in the Federal Register on February 7, 
2020. As appropriate, the Secretary will publish a document in the 
Federal Register announcing the expiration date of the IFR.
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    \35\ https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/02/12/2020-02731/control-of-communicable-diseases-foreign-quarantine.
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    CDC will separately comply with the requirements of the Paperwork 
Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
    If any provision of this Order, or the application of any provision 
to any persons, entities, or circumstances, shall be held invalid, the 
remainder of the provisions, or the application of such provisions to 
any persons, entities, or circumstances other than those to which it is 
held invalid, shall remain valid and in effect.

Directive

    In accordance with 42 CFR 71.4, 71.20, 71.31, and 71.32 as 
authorized by 42 U.S.C. 264 and 268, it is hereby ordered:

1. Definitions

    As used in this Order, the term:
    `Airline' has the same meaning as in 42 CFR 71.1(b);
    `Communicable disease' has the same meaning as in 42 CFR 71.1(b);
    `Crewmember' means a person assigned to perform duty in an aircraft 
during flight time;
    `Designated information' means the data elements listed below, to 
the extent that they exist.\36\ Data elements listed in subsections (a) 
through (e) must be provided by the passenger and maintained by the 
airline or operator for crewmembers and (f) through (m) must be 
provided to the extent such data elements are already available and 
maintained by the airline or operator.
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    \36\ An individual may not, for example, have an email address 
or phone number, in which case the individual would not be required 
to provide one.
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    (a) Full name (last, first, and, if available, middle or suffix 
(e.g., Jr.);
    (b) Address while in the United States (number and street, city, 
state or territory, and zip code);
    (c) Primary contact phone number to include country and area code, 
at which the passenger or crewmember can be contacted while in the 
United States;
    (d) Secondary contact phone number to include country and area 
code, which may be an emergency contact number, a work number, or a 
home number;
    (e) Email address that the passenger or crewmember will routinely 
check while in the United States;
    (f) Date of birth;
    (g) Airline name;
    (h) Flight number;
    (i) City of departure;
    (j) Departure date and time;
    (k) City of arrival;
    (l) Arrival date and time; and
    (m) Seat number.
    `Operator' means any person that operates an aircraft. To 
``operate'' an aircraft means to use, cause to use or authorize to use 
aircraft for the purpose of air navigation. ``Operate'' includes 
piloting an aircraft, with or without the right of legal control (as 
owner, lessee, or otherwise). An operator can be any person such as an 
air carrier, a commercial operator (as defined in 14 CFR 1.1) or a non-
certificated party.
    `Passenger' means any person who is not a crewmember on any 
aircraft operation carrying any person;
    `United States' has the same meaning as in 42 CFR 71.1(b).

2. Requirements for Airlines and Operators

    (a) This section applies to all passenger-carrying operations 
conducted on aircraft arriving into the United States from a foreign 
last point of departure (including flights with intermediate stops in 
the United States between the flight's foreign point of origin and the 
final destination). Airlines and operators are required to collect data 
as soon as practicable but CDC will use enforcement discretion after 
the Order effective date to allow airlines to come into compliance.
    (b) Beginning on flights departing for the United States from a 
foreign last point of departure after 12:01 a.m. Eastern Standard Time 
on November 8, 2021 (including flights with intermediate stops in the 
United States between the flight's foreign origin and the final 
destination), all airlines and operators of any passenger-carrying 
operations shall:
    (i) Collect the ``designated information'' for all passengers 
before boarding, but not more than 72 hours before departing from the 
flight's foreign last point of departure;
    (ii) Maintain the ``designated information'' for all crewmembers;
    (iii) When collecting the ``designated information,'' notify 
passengers of the purpose and intent of the information

[[Page 61251]]

collection, that the obligation to provide complete and accurate 
information is a United States Government requirement, and that failure 
to provide complete and accurate information may result in criminal 
penalties, as set forth herein. The airline or operator must also 
obtain confirmation from each passenger that the information provided 
is complete and accurate; and
    (iv) Retain the ``designated information'' under subparagraphs 
2(b)(i) and 2(b)(ii) for each flight for a minimum of 30 days from the 
flight's departure and, within 24 hours of a request from the CDC 
Director, transmit it to CDC through secure, electronic means approved 
by CDC.\37\ Data retention is not required for those airlines and 
operators who choose to otherwise securely transmit data using 
established DHS data systems.
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    \37\ https://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/order-collect-ti.html.
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    Any entities covered under section 2 that fail to comply with 
section 2 may be subject to criminal penalties under, inter alia, 42 
U.S.C. 271 and 42 CFR 71.2, in conjunction with 18 U.S.C. 3559 and 
3571. Willfully giving false or misleading information to the 
government may result in criminal penalties under, inter alia, 18 
U.S.C. 1001.

3. Requirements for Passengers

    This section applies to any passenger on a flight covered under 
this Order, including passengers with intermediate stops in the United 
States between the flight's foreign point of origin and the final 
destination. Beginning on flights departing for the United States from 
a foreign last point of departure after 12:01 a.m. Eastern Standard 
Time on November 8, 2021, the passenger or the passenger's authorized 
representative shall--
    (i) Accurately provide the ``designated information'' as instructed 
by the airline or operator before boarding a flight to the United 
States insofar as the information exists for the passenger;
    (ii) Acknowledge the airline's or operator's notification of the 
purpose and intent of this information collection, that the obligation 
to provide complete and accurate information is a United States 
Government requirement, and that failure to provide complete and 
accurate information may result in criminal penalties; and,
    (iii) Confirm that the provided ``designated information'' is 
complete and accurate.
    An authorized representative (for example, immediate family member, 
legal guardian, or travel agent) may provide the ``designated 
information'' and acknowledge the airline's or operator's notification 
on behalf of the passenger, including on behalf of a minor or other 
passenger who is unable to do so on his or her own behalf, but the 
information provided must be specific to the individual passenger 
(e.g., agents may not list contact information for the travel agency or 
provide one telephone number or email address for an entire group of 
unrelated persons).
    Any passenger or authorized representative who fails to comply with 
the requirements of section 3 may be subject to criminal penalties 
under, inter alia, 42 U.S.C. 271 and 42 CFR 71.2, in conjunction with 
18 U.S.C. 3559 and 3571. Willfully giving false or misleading 
information to the government may result in criminal penalties under, 
inter alia, 18 U.S.C. 1001.

4. Exemptions

    This Order does not apply to the following:
    (a) Any airline or operator that enters into a contract with the 
U.S. Military services to provide transportation to persons designated 
by the U.S. Military service is exempt from this Order for flights 
covered under the contract. The U.S. Military service typically 
collects and retains the ``designated information'' and conducts any 
necessary public health follow-up for passengers on the aircraft that 
operate in accordance with the U.S. Military service contract with the 
airline or operator.
    (b) Any airline or operator that enters into a contract with 
another U.S. Government agency may be eligible for an exemption on a 
case-by-case basis with approval from the CDC Director. Any request for 
this exemption must be made to CDC and is subject to any requirement or 
limitation established by the CDC Director, including that the U.S. 
Government agency that is a party to such a contract shall conduct any 
necessary public health follow-up for passengers and crew.
    (c) Any airline or operator designated as state aircraft under 
international law (1) by an appropriate United States federal 
government department or agency, or (2) by a foreign government and 
granted diplomatic clearance to enter U.S. airspace.

5. Privacy

    CDC intends to use the ``designated information'' only for public 
health follow-up, such as education, treatment, prophylaxis, or other 
appropriate public health interventions, including travel restrictions. 
CDC will maintain and use the ``designated information'' called for in 
this Order in accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a) 
and its applicable System of Record Notice.\38\ As noted in the System 
of Records Notice, CDC retains contact tracing information until the 
contact tracing investigation is complete or no longer than 12 months. 
Personally identifiable information may be used and shared only for 
lawful purposes, including with authorized personnel of the U.S. 
Department of Health and Human Services, state and local public health 
departments, and other cooperating authorities, as authorized by law. 
CDC will retain, use, delete, or otherwise destroy the ``designated 
information'' in accordance with the Federal Records Act, applicable 
Privacy Act System of Records notice, and other applicable law.
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    \38\ https://www.cdc.gov/sornnotice/09-20-0171.htm.
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    However, if ``designated information'' is transmitted by airlines 
via an established DHS data system, DHS will integrate the data into 
the DHS Automated Targeting System (ATS) \39\ and use it for passenger 
screening. DHS may use the data for any use permitted by the ATS System 
of Records Notice (SORN) \40\ and will retain it for a minimum of 
fifteen years, in accordance with the SORN. Permitted uses of 
established data systems, including ATS, include but are not limited to 
immigration enforcement, law enforcement, anti-terrorism, national 
security, and border security. DHS shares passenger data with other law 
enforcement and national security partners pursuant to agreements with 
those partners for use throughout a period of time specified by the 
relevant agreement, or according to the recipient agency's SORN or 
Attorney General-approved intelligence oversight guidelines.
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    \39\ https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/privacy-pia-cbp006-ats-may2021.pdf.
    \40\ https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-03-13/html/2015-05798.htm.
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    CDC may modify this Order by an updated publication in the Federal 
Register.

Authority

    The CDC Director is issuing this Order pursuant to Sections 361 and 
365 of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act, 42 U.S.C. 264 and 268, and 
implementing

[[Page 61252]]

regulations at 42 CFR 71.4, 71.20, 71.31, and 71.32.

Sherri Berger,
Chief of Staff, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2021-24386 Filed 11-3-21; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P