The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is ordering all airlines to turn over the names of passengers who arrived in the country from eight flights that are facing travel restrictions 

The directive, first reported on Wednesday by Reuters, has been issued in an effort to quickly identify and stop the spread of the Omicron variant.

The countries include Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe.  

On November 8, the CDC required all airlines to collect contact tracing information from international travelers, but had not required those details to be turned over.

According to the directive, which took effect on Tuesday evening, airlines have 24 hours to turn over the information.

The CDC is ordering U.S. airlines to turn over the names of passengers who entered the U.S. from eight African countries facing travel restrictions. Pictured: CDC headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia

The CDC is ordering U.S. airlines to turn over the names of passengers who entered the U.S. from eight African countries facing travel restrictions. Pictured: CDC headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia

The CDC is ordering U.S. airlines to turn over the names of passengers who entered the U.S. from eight African countries facing travel restrictions. Pictured: CDC headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia

This is a breaking news story and will be updated. 

Daily Mail Online