Days after China announced the easing of health requirements for travel to and from the country as of 8 January, several countries reported that they will impose new conditions on passengers arriving from the Asian country.
The new measures take place in a context of global alarm over the situation in China, which in recent days has seen a considerable increase in cases of COVID-19. Despite this, Beijing suddenly lifted restrictions on international travel after maintaining one of the world’s most restrictive policies to deal with the pandemic.
As of 8 January, China will no longer require quarantine for arrivals to the country. In addition, the national administration said it will reopen passport applications for its citizens. The announcement led to increased demand for flights and prompted many countries to revise their entry requirements.
In this context, India, Italy, Japan, Malaysia and Taiwan were the first countries to confirm that they would tighten conditions. In Milan, for example, it was reported that up to half of the passengers on flights from China tested positive. As a result, Italian health authorities will start testing for the virus.
Yesterday, the United States became the latest country to impose stricter entry requirements.
United States to require a negative test
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the United States national public health agency, announced that passengers arriving in the country from the People’s Republic of China and the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau, or who have been there up to ten days prior to their travel, will be required to present a negative PCR or antigen test for the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
In an official statement, the agency explained that the measure is aimed at “slowing the spread of COVID-19 in the United States” during the surge of cases in China, “given the lack of adequate and transparent epidemiological and viral genomic sequence data being reported”.
As of 5 January, all persons two years of age and older arriving on flights from China will be required to hold a negative test performed within 48 hours prior to travel.
It will be a precondition for boarding to present the result of the test to the airline staff in charge of the check-in process at the airport of departure. The requirement shall apply to all air passengers, irrespective of their nationality and vaccination status.
Test will also be required for persons travelling from China who are in transit to third countries via the United States, as well as for passengers travelling from China through Seoul-Incheon International Airport (ICN), Toronto-Pearson International Airport (YYZ) or Vancouver International Airport (YVR) up to two days prior to entry into the country.
On the other hand, those who have tested positive within ten days prior to travel will be able to present documentation of their recovery and will not be required to undergo a new test. The statement clarified that CDC “will continue to monitor the situation and adjust the approach as necessary”.
