US set to lift Covid-19 testing rules for travellers from China
- Measure will be lifted because the US has evidence that cases are declining in China
- US allies and partners have lifted similar restrictions for inbound flights from China
The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is set to end on Friday mandatory Covid-19 tests for travellers from China, joining other countries in dropping the requirements, a source briefed on the matter said told Reuters.
Associated Press and Bloomberg also spoke to US officials. Reports said the US administration has decided to roll back the testing requirements as cases, hospitalisations and deaths are declining in China and the US has gathered better information about the surge.
The CDC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The United States in early January joined India, Canada, Italy, Japan and other countries in taking new measures after Beijing’s decision to lift stringent zero-Covid policies.
It required new air passengers 2 and older to get a negative result from a test no more than two days before departure from China, Hong Kong or Macau.
China was battered with a surge in Covid-19 cases after it abruptly abandoned its zero-Covid policy in early December, unleashing the virus on its 1.4 billion population.