United States: The US has imposed COVID testing on visitors from China after Beijing announced it would reopen borders soon.
The Biden administration remarked that travelers from China, including Hong Kong and Macau, are required to present negative COVID-19 tests before entering the United States.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the new requirement will take effect on January 5.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated this was needed “to help slow the spread of the virus as we work to identify any potential new variants that may emerge.”
Based on the statements from federal officials, passengers who test positive more than 10 days before a flight can provide documentation of recovery in lieu of the negative test result.
The change in policy was attributed to the lack of information on variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and concerns that the increased number of COVID cases in China could result in the development of new variants of the virus.
Beijing’s foreign ministry remarked that coronavirus rules should only be instated on a “scientific” basis and accused Western countries and media of “hyping up” the situation.
Recently, Beijing announced its decision to end quarantine for arrivals, effectively reopening travel in and out of the country for the first time since March 2020. Until then, anyone entering China had to undergo quarantine at state facilities.
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