Explainer | Places with new Covid-19 rules for China travellers
- Canada, Australia, and Morocco are the latest countries imposing or considering curbs on travellers from China
- Governments cite a lack of information from China on variants and are concerned about a wave of infections following relaxation of ‘zero-Covid’ rules
Authorities around the world are imposing or considering curbs on travellers from China as Covid-19 cases in the country surge following its relaxation of “zero-Covid” rules.
They cite a lack of information from China on variants and are concerned about a wave of infections. China has rejected criticism of its Covid data and said it expects future mutations to be potentially more transmissible but less severe.
Below is a list of regulations for travellers from China.
02:18
US to require negative Covid test for China arrivals from January 5
United States
The United States will impose mandatory Covid-19 tests on travellers from China beginning on January 5. All air passengers aged two and older will require a negative result from a test no more than two days before departure from China, Hong Kong or Macau. The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention also said US citizens should also reconsider travel to China, Hong Kong and Macau.
Britain
The UK will require a pre-departure negative Covid-19 test from passengers from China as of January 5, the Department of Health said on Friday.
France
France will require travellers from China to provide a negative Covid test result less than 48 hours before departure, the health and transport ministries said on Friday.
From January 1, France will also carry out random PCR Covid tests upon arrival on some travellers coming from China, a government official told reporters.
Time for China’s ‘zero-Covid’ roller coaster to come to an end
Australia
Travellers from China to Australia will need to submit a negative Covid-19 test from January 5, Australian Health Minister Mark Butler said on Sunday, joining other nations that have implemented similar restrictions as cases surge in China.
India
The country has mandated a Covid-19 negative test report for travellers arriving from China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and Thailand, the health minister said. Passengers from those countries will be quarantined if they show symptoms or test positive.
Canada
Air travellers to Canada from China must test negative for Covid-19 no more than two days before departure, Ottawa said on Saturday, joining other nations that have implemented such restrictions.
Canada requires China travellers to test negative for Covid
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 went into effect at midnight on December 30. The government will also limit requests from airlines to increase flights to China.
Italy
Italy has ordered Covid-19 antigen swabs and virus sequencing for all travellers 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 to protect the Italian population,” Health Minister Orazio Schillaci said.
Spain
Spain will require a negative Covid-19 test or a full course of vaccination against the disease upon arrival for travellers from China, the country’s Health Minister Carolina Darias said.
01:52
China to fully reopen borders and shelve mandatory quarantine from January 8
Malaysia
Malaysia will screen all inbound travellers for fever and test waste water from aircraft arriving from China for Covid-19, Minister Zaliha Mustafa said in a statement.
Taiwan
Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Command Centre said all passengers on direct flights from mainland China, as well as by boat at two offshore islands, will have to take PCR tests upon arrival, starting on January 1.
South Korea
South Korea will require travellers from China to provide negative Covid test results before departure, South Korea’s News1 news agency reported on Friday.
Morocco
Morocco will impose a ban on people arriving from China, whatever their nationality, from January 3 to avert any new wave of coronavirus infections, the foreign ministry said on Saturday.
Philippines monitoring situations
The Philippines sees a need to intensify the monitoring and implementation of border control for incoming individuals especially from China that is experiencing a record surge in Covid-19 cases, Manila’s health ministry said on Saturday.
EU says restrictions unjustified
European health officials on Thursday called the extra screenings and restrictions on travellers from China unjustified, however. Europeans now have high levels of protection against Covid and health systems on the continent are equip to handle infections, they said.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
