Australia says no change to Covid-19 entry rules for travellers from China
- Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the government will continue to monitor the impact of Covid in Australia as well as around the world
- His comments came as the US joined India, Italy and Japan in taking new travel measures after Beijing’s decision to ditch its zero Covid policies
“We will take the appropriate advice from the health experts,” Albanese told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
“There is no change in the travel advice at this point in time but we are continuing to monitor the situation, as we continue to monitor the impact of Covid here in Australia as well as around the world.”
Meanwhile, Indonesia on Thursday said it has no plans to tighten restrictions for visitors from China. Under current rules, passengers arriving from overseas are only required to show proof of complete vaccination against the coronavirus. It scrapped the PCR test requirement for fully-vaccinated travellers in May unless they have a fever.
The Philippines’ Department of Health doesn’t see a need yet to close borders or impose tighter Covid restrictions on inbound Chinese travellers, the agency’s officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said.
The agency is confident that existing health protocols are sufficient, Vergeire said at a briefing on Thursday. “We can’t just have closures, then open it, then close it again. We are moving forward,” she said.