DECEMBER 30 (Portal) – Authorities around the world are imposing or considering restrictions on travelers from China as COVID-19 cases surge there following the relaxation of ‘zero-COVID’ rules.
They refer to the lack of information from China about variants and fear a wave of infections. China has dismissed criticism of its COVID data, saying it expects future mutations to be potentially more communicable but less severe.
Below is a list of regulations for travelers from China.
PLACES IMPOSING CURVES
UNITED STATES
The United States will impose mandatory COVID-19 testing on travelers from China starting Jan. 5. All passengers over the age of two must have a negative test result at least two days before departure from China, Hong Kong or Macau. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also said US citizens should also reconsider travel to China, Hong Kong and Macau.
INDIA
The country has ordered negative COVID-19 test reports for travelers from China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and Thailand, the health minister said. Passengers from these countries will be quarantined if they show symptoms or test positive.
JAPAN
Japan requires travelers from mainland China to have a negative COVID-19 test upon arrival. Anyone who tests positive must be in quarantine for seven days. New border measures for China come into effect at midnight on December 30. The government will also restrict requests from airlines to increase flights to China.
ITALY
Italy has ordered COVID-19 antigen swabs and virus sequencing for all travelers from China. Milan’s main airport, Malpensa, had already started testing passengers arriving from Beijing and Shanghai. “The measure is essential to ensure the surveillance and detection of possible variants of the virus to protect the Italian population,” said Health Minister Orazio Schillaci.
SPAIN
Spain will require travelers from China to have a negative COVID-19 test upon arrival or full vaccination against the disease, said the country’s health minister, Carolina Darias.
MALAYSIA
Malaysia will screen all arriving travelers for fevers and will test sewage from planes arriving from China for COVID-19, Minister Zaliha Mustafa said in a statement.
TAIWAN
Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Command Center said all passengers on direct flights from China as well as boats in two offshore islands will be required to undergo PCR tests upon arrival from Jan. 1.
SOUTH KOREA
South Korea will require travelers from China to present negative COVID test results before departure, South Korea’s News1 news agency reported on Friday, after Beijing decided to lift strict zero-COVID guidelines.
PLACES MONITORING THE SITUATION
AUSTRALIA
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Australia is monitoring the situation regarding China “as we continue to monitor the impact of COVID here in Australia and around the world”.
PHILIPPINES
The Southeast Asian country is “very cautious” and can impose measures such as testing requirements on visitors from China, but not an outright ban, Transport Secretary Jaime Bautista said.
GREAT BRITAIN
Britain is considering imposing restrictions on people arriving from China, but has no plans to do so, officials said.
Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said an update was possible in the coming days, but another minister said a review of the evidence so far has not suggested any worrying new variant that would prompt the government to impose restrictions.
Compiled by Bernard Orr; Edited by Gerry Doyle, John Stonestreet and Barbara Lewis
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