Does my US pre-departure Covid test have to be supervised on video?

Simon Calder answers your questions on getting into the States, touring Andalucia and flying to Tokyo

Orlando airport on the day Britons were allowed back into the US (Simon Calder)

Q The US authorities demand a pre-departure test. Is it true that they will only accept a “home” test result if it has been done under video supervision of a clinician? Or is it OK to provide a test result that has been authorised on the basis of uploaded photographic evidence of a test cartridge?

Dunc

A I can understand you asking this question. The UK is in the odd position of having allowed travellers to provide “proof” of a negative Covid-19 test on the basis of a photo showing themselves holding a lateral flow device with a negative result. Not only is self-testing not nearly so effective at identifying coronavirus infection as a professionally administered test, this option is also open to fraud. That is why the US health regulator, the Centres for Disease Control (CDC), allows self-testing only when it is supervised “live” by a professional online.