US to require travelers from China to show negative Covid-19 test result before flight - CNN

CNN  — 

The United States volition necessitate each travelers from China to amusement a antagonistic Covid-19 trial effect earlier flying to the state arsenic Beijing’s accelerated easing of Covid-19 restrictions leads to a surge successful cases.

Passengers flying to the US from China volition request to get a trial nary much than 2 days earlier flying, national wellness officials said, and contiguous impervious of the antagonistic trial to their hose earlier boarding.

The tests tin beryllium either a PCR trial oregon an antigen self-test administered done a telehealth service.

The request volition use some to passengers flying straight to the United States from China arsenic good to passengers flying done fashionable third-country gateways, including Seoul, Toronto and Vancouver.

Passengers who trial affirmative much than 10 days earlier their formation tin supply documentation of their betterment successful lieu of a antagonistic trial result.

The caller rules instrumentality effect astatine 12:01 a.m. ET connected January 5.

American officials person expressed heavy concerns astir China’s deficiency of transparency surrounding the astir caller surge successful cases, peculiarly the lack of genome sequencing accusation that could assistance observe caller strains of the coronavirus.

“We cognize these measures volition not destruct each hazard oregon wholly forestall radical who are infected from entering the United States,” a national wellness authoritative said. Still, “taken unneurotic they volition assistance bounds the fig of infected radical and supply america an aboriginal informing astir caller variants.”

The caller request comes arsenic Japan and India person announced Covid-19 measures for travelers from China amid concerns implicit an uptick successful cases.

Japan is requiring individuals traveling from China beryllium tested for Covid-19 upon accomplishment starting December 30. Indian authorities person said travelers from China, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Thailand volition person to amusement impervious of a antagonistic Covid-19 trial connected accomplishment to India and quarantine if they trial positive.

China has started loosening its strict Covid-19 measures aft dismantling the country’s long-held zero-Covid policy earlier this month. On Monday, China announced it volition extremity quarantine requirements for planetary arrivals from January 8, marking a large measurement toward reopening its borders.

But the abrupt extremity to the China’s stringent wellness argumentation has caught galore successful the state disconnected defender and enactment strains connected the wellness strategy arsenic it deals with an summation of infections.

China’s overseas ministry responded Wednesday to reports that the US is considering imposing restrictions connected travelers from China, urging parties to enactment unneurotic to guarantee the harmless question of radical betwixt countries and the stableness of the planetary proviso chain.

“We request each parties to enactment unneurotic scientifically against the epidemic to guarantee the harmless question of radical betwixt countries, support the stableness of the planetary concern concatenation proviso concatenation and beforehand the resumption of steadfast maturation successful the satellite economy,” China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Wang Wenbin said successful a briefing.

This communicative has been updated with further developments.