Washington, Aug 20 (AP) Amid the chaos and confusion at the airport, the US on Thursday said it has taken at least one step to ease requirements for those seeking to leave: COVID-19 tests.

Although Afghanistan had been a hotspot for the coronavirus pandemic, the State Department said evacuees are not required to get a negative COVID-19 result to travel.

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"A blanket humanitarian waiver has been implemented for COVID testing for all persons the US government is relocating from Afghanistan,” the department said.

It referred questions about how the matter would be handled once evacuees arrive in the United States to the Department of Health and Human Services. Medical exams, including coronavirus tests, had been required for evacuees prior to Taliban's weekend takeover of Kabul, which added extra urgency to efforts to get at-risk Afghans out of the country. (AP)

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(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)