US Will Require People Traveling From China to Take COVID-19 Test: CDC - NBC Southern California

The U.S. announced caller COVID-19 investigating requirements Wednesday for each travelers from China, joining different nations imposing restrictions due to the fact that of a surge of infections.

The summation successful cases crossed China follows the rollback of the nation's strict anti-virus controls. China's “zero COVID” policies had kept the country's corruption complaint debased but fueled nationalist vexation and crushed economical growth.

The caller U.S. requirements, which commencement Jan. 5, use to travelers careless of their nationality and vaccination status.

In a statement explaining the testing, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cited the surge successful infections and what it said was a deficiency of capable and transparent accusation from China, including genomic sequencing connected the viral strains circulating successful the country.

“These information are captious to show the lawsuit surge efficaciously and alteration the accidental for introduction of a caller variant of concern,” the CDC said.

Some scientists are worried the COVID-19 surge successful China could unleash a caller coronavirus variant on the satellite that whitethorn oregon whitethorn not beryllium akin to the ones circulating now. That’s due to the fact that each corruption is different accidental for the microorganism to mutate.

Hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets successful Wuhan, China arsenic protests implicit China’s stringent COVID restrictions dispersed crossed the country.

“What we privation to debar is having a variant participate into the U.S. and dispersed similar we saw with delta oregon omicron,” said Matthew Binnicker, manager of objective virology astatine Mayo Clinic successful Rochester, Minnesota.

But the CDC's enactment whitethorn beryllium little astir stopping a caller variant from crossing U.S. borders and much astir expanding unit connected China to stock much information, said Dr. David Dowdy, an infectious illness epidemiologist astatine Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, adding helium hopes the restrictions "aren’t kept successful spot longer than they request to be.”

“I don’t deliberation it’s going to person a large interaction successful slowing the dispersed of COVID-19,” Dowdy said. “We person a full batch of transmission of COVID-19 present wrong our borders already.”

Dr. Stuart Campbell Ray, an infectious illness adept astatine Johns Hopkins University, agreed China isn't sharing capable genomic sequencing information. But helium besides said the U.S. has go a small complacent astir sequencing and needs to redouble its ain efforts. The CDC besides announced the enlargement of an aboriginal informing programme that tests volunteers astatine prime airports for caller and uncommon variants of the coronavirus. That programme volition grow to airports successful Seattle and Los Angeles.

Under the caller U.S. rules, travelers to the U.S. from China, Hong Kong and Macau, volition beryllium required to instrumentality a COVID-19 trial nary much than 2 days earlier question and supply a antagonistic trial earlier boarding their flight. The investigating applies to anyone 2 years and older, including U.S. citizens.

It volition use to radical traveling from China via a 3rd state and to radical connecting done the U.S. arsenic they spell connected to different destinations. Anyone investigating affirmative much than 10 days earlier the formation tin supply documentation showing they’ve recovered from COVID-19 alternatively of a antagonistic trial result.

It volition beryllium up to the airlines to corroborate antagonistic tests and documentation of betterment earlier passengers board.

Other countries person taken akin steps successful an effort to support infections from spreading beyond China's borders. Japan volition necessitate a antagonistic COVID-19 trial upon accomplishment for travelers from China, and Malaysia announced caller tracking and surveillance measures. India, Italy, South Korea and Taiwan are requiring microorganism tests for visitors from China.

Lunar New Year, which begins Jan. 22, is usually China's busiest question season, and China announced Tuesday it volition resume issuing passports for tourism for the archetypal clip since the commencement of the pandemic successful 2020.

“We look guardant to welcoming Chinese travelers backmost to the United States,” U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Geoff Freeman said successful a statement. He called the U.S. attack to investigating inbound travelers “reasonable and appreciated.”

The U.S. enactment is simply a instrumentality to investigating requirements for immoderate planetary travelers. The Biden medication lifted the past of specified mandates successful June. At that time, the CDC continued to urge that radical boarding flights to the U.S. get tested adjacent to departure clip and not question if they are sick.

“We’ve done this before. We tin bash it again,” Dowdy said.

Early successful the pandemic, the U.S. barred introduction to foreigners traveling from China, weeks aft the microorganism archetypal emerged determination 3 years ago, and dozens of different countries were added to the list. The state started lifting question bans precocious past year, but required travelers to the U.S. to beryllium vaccinated and tested.

AP Science Writer Laura Ungar contributed.