More than a dozen countries have announced new entry restrictions on travelers coming from China at a time when they are largely on the way out, as concerns grow over the reliability of the country's reporting.
The United States and Britain have reintroduced compulsory pre-flight COVID-19 tests. Those who test positive are required to be tested upon arrival in Italy. The ban on entry to all travelers from China will be in effect on Tuesday.
Read more about China's stunning U-Turn on Zero- COVID.
The new restrictions haven't gone down well in Beijing, which in a stunning reversal began dismantling its zero- COVID policies last month. The Chinese state media characterized the new testing requirements as a politically motivated effort to undermine the Chinese government. Public health experts have doubts about the effectiveness of these measures. Andrew Pollard, the director of the Oxford Vaccine Group, said that trying to ban a Viruses by adjusting what we do with travel has already been shown not to work very well
The countries that have imposed restrictions on travelers from China so far are listed here.
The health minister of Italy announced on December 28 that all airline passengers would have to be tested upon arrival. Italy is the only European country that requires such testing to date. More than a third of the passengers tested positive for carbon dioxide. Half of the passengers tested positive for something.
Travelers from China, Hong Kong, and Macau will be required to take a negative COVID-19 test before they leave the U.S. Concerns over China's lack of transparency over its outbreak as well as its failure to adequately track and sequence variant within the country led to the new restrictions.
The CDC said that there are different versions of the virus in countries around the world. Reduced testing and case reporting in the People's Republic of China could affect the identification of new variant of concern.
Travelers from China will be required to submit a negative COVID-19 test 48 hours before departure. Passengers will have to wear a mask on the flight and be tested on their arrival.
Travelers from China to the U.K. will need to take a negative COVID-19 test no later than two days before departure. A sample of passengers will be tested upon arrival.
Due to a lack of comprehensive health information shared by China, the country has decided to introduce these measures for China arrivals. Temporary measures will be reviewed if there are improvements in information sharing.
Travelers from China will be required to provide a negative COVID-19 test or proof of vaccine in order to enter Spain. Madrid said that it would accept any vaccine recognized by the World Health Organization.
More than 250 million people in China do not have a third dose of the vaccine. For those aged 80 and up, the figure increases to 60 percent.
People traveling from China, Hong Kong, and Macau to Australia will need to take a negative COVID-19 test within 48 hours of departure. The lack of comprehensive information about the situation in China is the reason for this temporary measure.
All air travelers over the age of two from China, Hong Kong, and Macau will need to provide a negative COVID-19 test no more than two days before their departure. Canada's public health agency says the measures will be reexamined within 30 days. It's not necessary to mask in flight.
Travelers from China will have to submit to testing on arrival in Japan. People who test positive will be required to stay away from each other.
Travelers from China will be required to take a COVID-19 test before they enter the country. Short-term visas for Chinese nationals will be restricted by South Korea until the end of the month, and flights between the two countries will be halted.
Travelers coming from China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and Thailand will be required to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test no more than 72 hours before departure. 2% of international arrivals will be tested at random according to the Indian government's announcement.
The Malaysian government announced on December 30th that it will begin screening all inbound travelers from China and other countries for a high temperature and give them a COVID-19 test if they are found to have a high temperature. Wastewater will be tested on aircrafts arriving from China in order to detect new variant.
All non-Israeli travelers arriving from China will have to take a pre-flight test within 72 hours.
Travelers from China will have to submit a negative COVID-19 test within 48 hours of departure.
Travelers from China will not be allowed to enter Morocco. The strictest measure yet taken in response to China's surge in cases was announced just days before the ban was to be imposed.
You can write to yasmeen serhan at time.com.
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