US lifting Covid-19 test requirement for travellers from China, CDC confirms
- The measure had been put in place in January following Beijing’s decision to lift its stringent zero-Covid policies
- The US CDC says it will continue the voluntary genomic sequencing programme at select airports to help with early detection of new coronavirus variants
The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed on Wednesday it plans to end mandatory Covid-19 tests for travellers from China, joining other countries in eliminating the requirements.
Reuters and other outlets on Tuesday reported that the CDC plans to drop the testing requirements imposed in early January on Friday.
The CDC said on Wednesday that the “public health measure was put in place to protect US citizens and communities as we worked to both identify the size of the [Covid surge in China] and gain better insights into the variants that were circulating”.
The CDC said it will continue to monitor cases in China and around the world.
03:18
Beijing rejects US agency report saying Covid-19 likely emerged from Chinese lab leak
Last week, Japan dropped a requirement that everyone take a test for the virus upon arrival from China.