ExplainerCoronavirus: as China reopens borders, which countries are rolling out new travel restrictions?

The US, Japan, India and Italy are among the handful of nations tightening measures for visitors from the world’s second-biggest economy amid fears of new Covid wave

But Australia and Indonesia said they don’t see a need yet to impose curbs on inbound Chinese travellers

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Passengers bound for Beijing board a flight at the airport in Xiamen, China’s Fujian province, on December 26. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 1:52pm, 29 Dec 2022Updated: 8:20am, 31 Dec 2022

Several places around the world have imposed curbs on travellers from China amid a Covid-19 surge after Beijing relaxed strict zero-Covid measures. They cite a lack of information from China on variants and are concerned about a wave of infections.

China has rejected criticism of its statistics and said it expects future mutations to be potentially more virulent but less severe. Below is a list of rules for travellers from China:

United States

The US will impose mandatory Covid-19 tests on travellers from China beginning on January 5. All air passengers 2 and older will require a negative result from a test no more than two days before departure from mainland China, Hong Kong or Macau. The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention also said Americans should also reconsider travel to China, Hong Kong and Macau.

India

The country has mandated a Covid-19 negative test report for travellers arriving from China, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand, the health minister said. Passengers from those countries will be put under quarantine if they showed symptoms of Covid-19 or tested positive.

Japan

Japan will require a negative Covid-19 test upon arrival for travellers from mainland China. Those who test positive will be required to quarantine for seven days. New border measures for China will go into effect at midnight on December 30. The government will also limit requests from airlines to increase flights to China. Hong Kong’s government has asked Japan to withdraw a restriction that requires passenger flights from the financial hub to land at four designated Japanese airports, saying the decision will affect about 60,000 passengers.

Italy

The country has ordered Covid-19 antigen swabs and virus sequencing for all travellers coming from China. Milan’s main airport, Malpensa, had already started testing passengers arriving from Beijing and Shanghai. “The measure is essential to ensure surveillance and detection of possible variants of the virus in order to protect the Italian population”, health minister Orazio Schillaci said.

France, Spain, Britain and Israel also said they would require proof of a negative test for travellers leaving China.

European health officials, however, called the extra screenings and restrictions on travellers from China unjustified. Europeans now have high levels of protection against Covid and health systems on the continent are equipped to handle infections, they said.

Taiwan

Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Command Centre said all passengers arriving on direct flights from China, as well as by boat at two offshore islands, will have to take PCR tests upon arrival. Taiwan will test arrivals from China for Covid-19 starting January 1.