The White House announced a new travel system that will open borders for vaccinated international travelers—and place more stringent testing requirements on all unvaccinated travelers, in today's bite-sized hospital and health industry news from the District of Columbia, New York, and Oklahoma.

• District of Columbia: The White House on Monday released a new travel system that will go into effect Nov. 8. Under the new system, the U.S. travel ban against dozens of countries will end, opening borders for vaccinated international travelers. In addition, unvaccinated international travelers will be required to provide proof of a negative Covid-19 test within one day of departure, rather than the current window of three days. According to senior administration officials, "These are strict safety protocols that follow the science of public health to enhance the safety of Americans here at home and the safety of international air travel." (Chen/Schulz, USA Today, 10/26)

• New York: The Police Benevolent Association of New York on Monday filed a lawsuit against Mayor Bill de Blasio's (D) mandate requiring all public city employees to receive a Covid-19 vaccine by Oct. 29 or be placed on unpaid leave. The lawsuit aims to allow unvaccinated officers to keep working. When the requirement was announced on Oct. 20, around 70% of New York City Police Department employees had received at least one dose of a vaccine. (Axios, 10/25)

• Oklahoma: The Oklahoma Supreme Court on Monday decided to temporarily block three abortion restrictions that were supposed to go into effect Nov. 1. These laws would limit medication-induced abortions and require any doctor who performs abortions to become board-certified in obstetrics and gynecology. "The court’s decision today comes as a huge relief," Alan Braid, owner of Tulsa Women’s Reproductive Clinic, said."Texas has shown us the heartbreaking consequences of what happens when a state bans abortion. Even Oklahomans are suffering from the Texas ban, which has created backlogs of patients here and in other surrounding states." (Chen, Axios, 10/25)