CNN —

For the first time in nearly 70 years, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is proposing a change in how dogs are imported into the United States.

Revisiting guidelines last revised in 1956, the proposed updates introduce a new set of requirements for people looking to bring in pets from countries with a high risk for rabies. The CDC says that dog rabies was eliminated in the United States in 2007, but the virus is still endemic in over 100 countries.

"The proposed updates aim to protect the public's health by preventing the reintroduction of dog rabies into the United States," CDC spokesperson David Daigle said. "These updates would establish an importation system designed to reduce fraud and improve the U.S. government's ability to verify that imported dogs have met U.S. entry requirements."

In the video player above: In 2021, the CDC issued a temporary suspension of dog imports from over 100 countries

Although rabies among humans is rare in the United States, the virus kills about 59,000 people around the world each year, most of them children bitten by dogs, according to the CDC. Exposure to infected dogs causes 99% of human rabies deaths worldwide.

After entering the body – usually via the bite of an infected animal – the virus travels through the nerves to the brain, where it multiplies and causes inflammation. By the time it reaches the brain and symptoms appear, the disease is usually fatal.

The CDC's proposed regulation creates additional safeguards to prevent rabies from arriving from overseas. For instance, dogs from rabies-free or "low-risk" countries would be allowed to enter with written documentation that the dog has lived in the low-risk setting for the past six months.

For dogs who were vaccinated in the U.S. and are returning from countries with high rabies incidence, their owners would be required to bring them to an airport with a CDC quarantine station. They would also need to have a rabies vaccination form completed and signed by a veterinarian approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The proposed updates place the most restrictions on people seeking to import dogs from high-risk countries who have also been vaccinated abroad.

In those situations, owners would need to have a valid rabies vaccination form completed by a licensed veterinarian and signed by an official government veterinarian of the exporting country. Once in the U.S., the dogs would have to be examined and revaccinated at a CDC-registered animal care facility.

The CDC has opened the guidelines to public comment online until Sept. 8.

Although the policy that the CDC hopes to update includes rules for dog and cat importation, cats are not required to have proof of rabies vaccination, and the CDC's changes don't affect cat imports.

Rabies can be a particularly expensive virus to treat. According to the guidelines, the importation of an infected dog in 2019 cost state governments over $400,000 to investigate and administer post-exposure prophylaxis treatment.

The updates come on the heels of the CDC's decision to extend its temporary suspension of dog imports from over 100 countries with a high rabies risk until July 31, 2024. The suspension began in 2021 after cases of imported dog rabies and a 52% uptick in falsified rabies vaccination certificates.

Stretched thin due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the agency opted to suspend the arrival of dogs who had traveled to one of 113 countries considered at high risk for dog rabies, including Brazil, China and India.

In addition to the more stringent vaccination verification and screening efforts, the proposed updates require that all dogs entering the U.S. be microchipped, at least 6 months old and healthy upon arrival.

However, the proposed restrictions face challenges.

In a statement Monday, the animal rights advocacy group Animal Wellness Action decried the agency's proposal as "draconian," saying the guidelines "will put Americans overseas at risk of losing their animals" and could "terribly complicate" US charities working with dogs abroad.

In 2021, a letter signed by 57 U.S. representatives also called on the CDC to lift its suspension of canine imports from high-risk countries, describing the policy as a "one-size-fits-all approach" that "prevents thousands of dogs from … being rescued and adopted."

But the CDC insists that its proposal is critical to preventing the re-emergence of rabies.

"We understand the important role pets play in our lives and that there are many health benefits to owning a pet," Daigle said. "However, the close relationships between dogs and people means there is a direct public health risk to people who interact with inadequately vaccinated dogs imported from countries with high risk for dog rabies."

Video above: Michigan State students gather in wake of shooting

Public access to most buildings at Michigan State University will be restricted at night, the school announced Wednesday, one in a series of security steps in response to the February shootings that killed three students and wounded five more.

Students, faculty and staff will need to use their campus ID cards to gain electronic access to buildings between 6 p.m. and 7:30 a.m. on weekdays, starting March 13, officials said. There will be exceptions for events typically open to the general public.

Michigan State plans to make it possible to lock 1,300 classrooms from the inside by the fall semester. Students, faculty and staff will also be required to complete "active violence intruder training" next fall.

"The actions we are outlining today position us on a path to reclaim our sense of safety that was so violently taken away from our community," President Teresa Woodruff said. "These steps will provide more robust security on campus while better preparing our community to respond in these unfortunate situations."

A gunman shot eight students after 8 p.m. Feb. 13. Two students were killed at an academic building, Berkey Hall, while another was slain at the MSU Union, a gathering place for students and the public. Both remain closed.

The shooter, Anthony McRae, 43, later killed himself away from campus, police said.

Michigan State has 50,000 students and hundreds of buildings in East Lansing, about 90 miles northwest of Detroit.

Ryan Dodge, a 19-year-old student, said mandatory training to deal with armed intruders, unfortunately, is a sign of the times.

"Fire drills, tornado drills — those are natural occurrences," he said. "There's nothing natural about a shooter coming on campus, but it's just as dangerous now."

The university said it will expand its current network of 2,000 campus cameras. It also will hire an outside party to analyze the immediate response to the shootings and make the report public.

Video below: Rally held at MSU as students return to campus

"It's reasonable in that it could be much more onerous," Michigan State journalism professor Eric Freedman said of the new building policy. "Does it make it safer? I'm not sure. Will people feel safer? Maybe."

No change to building access during daytime hours was announced. Michigan State already restricts access to the living areas in residence halls, though dining areas on the ground floor typically are open to the public.

Jason Russell, president of Secure Education Consultants, which assesses security at K-12 schools, said Michigan State so far is taking a "measured reaction" to security in the wake of the shootings.

"The things they're adding are appropriate," said Russell, a former Secret Service agent whose daughter is a Michigan State student. "College campuses are inherently difficult to secure, unlike a K-12 school where kids are in the same building. MSU is huge."

The Michigan State shootings were the latest in what has become a deadly new year in the U.S. Dozens of people have died in mass shootings so far in 2023. In 2022, there were more than 600 mass shootings in the U.S. in which at least four people were killed or injured, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

Just when we thought U.S. travel rules were starting to stabilize, along comes omicron.

The dominoes fell quickly after South African health authorities informed the world of their discovery of the omicron variant of the coronavirus on Nov. 26.

The Biden administration rolled out controversial travel bans on arrivals from eight nations in southern Africa. Travelers found themselves unexpectedly stranded. And now U.S. officials have said they will be tightening travel regulations again.

Things are changing by the day and even by the hour, but here are some of the questions people have about U.S. travel rules — and answers we have right now:

Are testing rules for entry into the US changing?

Yes, according to President Joe Biden's announcement on Thursday of new measures aimed at curbing the pandemic.

All inbound international travelers will soon be required to test within one day of departure for the United States.

This new time frame will apply to everyone, "regardless of nationality or vaccination status," the plan outlined on the White House website says.

According to the plan posted, the tightening of the testing protocol will happen "early next week."

Currently, vaccinated travelers are required to test within three days of their departure. There is a requirement for foreign travelers arriving in the United States to be fully vaccinated.

Unvaccinated Americans and legal permanent residents are allowed to enter the country with a test taken within one day of departing for the United States. The new rule will make the testing time frame one day for everyone.

Biden also announced that the federal mask mandate requiring travelers to wear masks in airports, on planes and on other modes of public transportation such as trains and buses has been extended through March 18.

Is there a post-arrival testing or quarantine requirement?

There is not. "We're not announcing any steps on post-arrival testing and quarantine," a senior administration official said in a press briefing on Wednesday evening.

"I will say — look, if additional measures are recommended, if additional measures can be implemented well and are effective, we won't hesitate to take them, but we're not taking them today," the official said, according to a White House transcript of that briefing.

What countries fall under the new US travel ban?

The travel bans announced on Nov. 26 bar entry into the U.S. of noncitizens coming from eight countries in southern Africa. They are Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

On Nov. 27, the CDC placed them all at Level 4 "very high" risk for COVID-19. (Botswana was already at Level 4 because of its caseload — more than 500 per 100,000 residents in the past 28 days.)

Citizens of those nations and citizens of other nations who have been traveling there in the past 14 days are currently not allowed entry into the United States.

Can US citizens already in those nations return?

Yes, they can.

Per the White House proclamation, the CDC says that "citizens and lawful permanent residents of the United States, certain family members, and other individuals who meet specified exceptions, who have been in one of the countries listed above in the past 14 days will be allowed to enter the United States."

As of Dec. 2, they still had to follow the rules already in place to re-enter: A negative result from a COVID-19 test within three days of travel if fully vaccinated and within one day of travel if unvaccinated.

Can US citizens still travel to the banned nations?

Technically, yes.

At least two U.S. carriers are still flying back and forth from South Africa. Delta Air Lines is still offering Atlanta-Johannesburg service, and United Airlines is still offering Newark-Johannesburg service.

United Airlines is also resuming nonstop service between Newark and Cape Town, according to a news release from South African Tourism. The release also said, "we would like to emphasize that our country remains open for all those travelers who wish to visit."

Whether it's advisable to go is another matter. The CDC advises against it.

You might also encounter new travel barriers. For instance, Zimbabwe imposed a lockdown and mandatory quarantine on Nov. 30, for travelers, state-run news agency NewZiana reported.

Going to southern African nations while bans are in place around the world might cause you to be banned from going to other countries. For instance, the United Kingdom is not allowing anyone who has been to "red list "countries — which include Angola and Zambia as well as the eight discussed above — from entering except its own returning citizens.

Argentina, Canada, Italy and other nations also have put bans in place, each with their own specific parameters.

What is the US doing to detect the virus?

The CDC said it would expand omicron surveillance at four major U.S. international airports.

The CDC also confirmed to CNN on Wednesday that officials have directed airlines carrying passengers that have been to certain southern African nations to share those passengers' contact information with the agency.

Airlines have already been gathering contact information from passengers under a CDC contact tracing order that has been in effect since Nov. 8.

At Johnny D’s Waffles and Benedicts, the kitchen may be hot, but the dining area is stone cold.

“We were having a really good March,” said chef and restaurant owner Jamie Daskalis. “It dropped big time.”

She said, even with offering takeout, business at

her Myrtle Beach, S.C. restaurant

is down 90 percent. All but one of her 30 employees are out of a job, along with 8 million others who work in restaurants across the country.

“Everyone else, unfortunately, is laid off,” Daskalis said.

Indoor dining is still off the table in South Carolina, but as the governor begins allowing more businesses to reopen, some are prepping for the day when diners may be allowed back inside.

“I have been preparing in my brain what I want to do,” Daskalis said.

Some ideas she has include:

- Removing condiments and napkin dispensers from tables
- Giving each guest a disposable, paper menu
- Having guests wait outside to be seated
- Spacing out tables to comply with social distancing

Fewer tables, though, ultimately means accommodating fewer customers and less revenue.

“I think that the profit margin is going to be even slimmer,” Daskalis said. “But I just want to make enough to pay bills and you know keep my employees employed.”

Getting employees back won’t be instantaneous, however.

“They have to bring them back. Then, they have to train them,” said Karen Riordan, CEO of the Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce. “Then, they have to make sure they have all the right hand-sanitizer and protocols in the restaurant industry.”

At the federal level, some members of the coronavirus task force are cautioning about reopening businesses too quickly, like restaurants.

“If there’s a way that people can social distance and do those things, then they can do those things,” Dr. Deborah Birx said during a coronavirus task force news conference on April 21. “I don’t know how, but people are very creative.”

Yet, there are fears that not every restaurant will survive the coronavirus pandemic, and that when this is all over, the restaurant scene we’ve become accustomed to will look very different.

“I'm nervous for some restaurants here,” Daskalis said, adding that she hopes Johnny D’s will still be left standing. “I just want to be here for when this is done.”

The Biden administration is rolling out new international travel policies affecting Americans and noncitizens alike who want to fly into the U.S. The goal is to restore more normal air travel after 18 months of disruption caused by COVID-19.

The across-the-board rules, which will take effect in November, will replace a hodgepodge of confusing restrictions. Some details of the plan announced Monday are being worked out, but here are some questions and answers about what to expect:

What is the new policy in a nutshell?

All adult foreign nationals traveling to the U.S. will be required to be fully vaccinated before boarding their flight. This is in addition to the current requirement that travelers show proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours of departure to the U.S.

Once the vaccination requirement is put in place, the White House will ease all the country-specific restrictions on international travel that have prevented non-citizens who have been in the United Kingdom, European Union, China, India, Iran, Republic of Ireland, Brazil or South Africa in the prior 14 days from entering the U.S.

How does this affect Americans?

Fully vaccinated Americans will only need to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours of departure to the U.S.

What about unvaccinated Americans?

U.S. citizens and permanent residents who are not fully vaccinated will still be able to fly to the U.S., but they will see tougher testing and contact tracing protocols. They will need to be tested within 24 hours of boarding a flight to the U.S., as well as undergo testing upon return to the country. It remains to be seen, though, how the federal government will enforce the testing requirement upon return.

How does this affect children?

The new U.S. policy only requires adult foreign nationals to be fully vaccinated in order to enter the U.S. The White House did not immediately say whether unvaccinated children will face different testing protocols when flying into the country.

Which vaccines are acceptable?

The CDC says the U.S. will accept full vaccination of travelers with any COVID-19 vaccine approved for emergency use by the World Health Organization, including those from Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson used in the U.S. Other vaccines are also approved by the WHO and used widely around the world, including from AstraZeneca and China’s Sinovac, with varying degrees of effectiveness against COVID-19 and its more transmissible delta variant. The WHO is reviewing Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine but hasn’t approved it.

How will this affect air fare?

Adit Damodaran, economist for the travel-research firm Hopper, predicted that growing demand is likely to cause higher airfares on flights from Europe, although the rush to book flights could be slowed by the delta variant and high COVID-19 rates in the U.S. If fares rise, it would mark a turnaround in prices since the start of the pandemic.

Will airlines collect data on passengers?

The CDC will require airlines to collect information about passengers and provide it to the health agency if it needs to conduct contact tracing. The airlines had resisted a similar change last year when it was proposed by the CDC and eventually blocked by the Trump administration.

What about travel over land borders?

The administration's restrictions on crossing land borders from Mexico and Canada into the U.S. are to remain unchanged for now. That means that in some cases fully vaccinated people from the two American neighbors will soon be able fly to the U.S., but may not be able to make the same journey by car.

How will this affect the travel industry?

Analysts and industry officials think it will help. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said lifting the current restrictions on international travelers will contribute to a durable recovery for the U.S. economy. Before Monday, the U.S. was on pace to lose $175 billion in export income from international visitors this year, according to the U.S. Travel Association.

How have the current restrictions affected international travel?

They have made it easier for Americans to visit Europe than the other way around. U.S. international travel in August was down 54% compared with two years ago, and arrivals by non-U.S. citizens were off 74%, according to Airlines for America.

How will the changes affect business travel?

There is pent-up demand among business travelers from Europe. Foreign executives who have been vaccinated will no longer have to prove that their travel to the United States serves the U.S. "national interest" — a time-consuming process.

___

Koenig reported from Dallas. Associated Press writer Mike Stobbe in New York contributed to this report.

CINCINNATI —

Two state health orders increase the number of people allowed inside stadiums, wedding venues and catering facilities.

The order pertaining to banquet halls, event centers and caterers eliminates a 300 person cap on those venues.

Along with removing the cap, the order allows guests to move around while wearing masks and distancing. Previously, guests were required to stay seated at all times. Dancing is allowed now as long as distancing measures are followed. A November order banned it as cases were rising.

Jerin Dunham is breathing a sigh of relief.

"It's encouraging because they're lifting the ban for 300 people as the amount of people getting together and obviously we're in the business of having events," Dunham said.

Dunham is part owner of Funky's Catering Events, hosting all kinds of functions at three different Cincinnati event locations.

"Not having a cap makes a difference in the mindset of people in terms of what they can and can't do at that point of time," Dunham.

Leaders at Ohio Event Safety, uniting event professionals with the goal of keeping events safe told quote:

"This is a giant step forward for celebrations and it will have a massive impact on engaged couples and businesses alike. But, we have to remember progress can be lost just as quickly as it was gained if we don't proceed responsibly." Berlyn Martin, Co-founder of Ohio Event Safety.

The other order addresses sports and other entertainment venues.

It has indoor venues capped at 25 percent seating capacity. Outdoor venues are capped at 30 percent seating capacity.

Indoor venues are now also expected to use filtration systems.

With COVID-19 restrictions on the verge of being loosened, if not dropped altogether – not everyone is ready to head back into the crowded spaces we all remember from pre-pandemic life, with or without a mask.

While some are celebrating the return to some semblance of normalcy, anxiety is being stoked in others. Mental health experts are calling the phenomenon ‘re-entry anxiety,’ and it’s affecting people from the the White House all the way to your house.

“Yesterday, as soon as the guidelines came out, we got a note that came across our emails that says you don’t need to wear masks here anymore,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.

But some people are saying being in large crowds after a year of isolation isn’t everyone’s ideal situation.

“It makes so much sense that our bodies and our minds are telling us ‘no.’” clinical psychologist Dr. Ashley Soloman said.

She said if the idea of returning to pre-pandemic life worries you, you’re not alone.

“I’ve seen so many people over this past year with COVID anxiety that was new to them as well as people who have perhaps struggled with anxiety in different points in their lives and it was extremely exacerbated by the pandemic,” Soloman said.

She said it’s important to start with small steps – a little league game over a MLB game played in a large stadium, short trips over flights, Airbnb’s over crowded hotels.

“Don’t feel like you have to go to a crowded stadium or concert as the first time that you’re reentering public life,” Soloman said.

She stresses the importance of being patient with others feeling more or less caution than you.

“I think it’s really important that we’re honest with each other about how we’re feeling and our comfort level in reengaging in our more social lives,” Soloman said.

And while restrictions are expiring, the pandemic’s effects are here to stay.

“The mental health issues that have come out during COVID are really not going anywhere,” Solomon said. “They’re really going to persist.”

She said if you’re venturing into a crowded space for the first time in months, you may want to do so with a partner – that way you have someone to confide in if you get overwhelmed.