Nations across the globe are implementing or considering measures to test or restrict travelers from China as the country of 1.4 billion abandons its Covid Zero policy and prepares to reopen borders in early January, according to Bloomberg.
The US is considering new coronavirus precautions for people traveling from China amid questions about the transparency of data China is reporting about the spread of the virus, according to American officials, who asked not to be identified discussing internal thinking.
Japan moved quickly yesterday to announce steps requiring a negative Covid-19 test upon arrival soon after Beijing said it no longer subject inbound travelers to quarantine from January 8.
China is rapidly dismantling its stringent pandemic measures in the face of discontent with Covid Zero rules, triggering outbreaks across the country. Uncertainty over the true scale of infections without reliable official figures is fueling concern that the rapid spread of the virus could lead to the emergence of new variants.
China is experiencing the world’s largest Covid-19 outbreak, raising concerns among public-health officials worldwide. Almost 37 million people may have been infected with the virus on a single day last week, according to estimates from the government’s top health authority.
Earlier this week, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said there are “great discrepancies” in information coming out of the country, fueling growing concern. Japan will require negative Covid-19 test results upon arrival for visitors who have been in mainland China within a seven-day period, while those who test positive will have to quarantine for a week.
The US is weighing similar steps, the officials said, as a way to prevent further spread. Malaysia has also imposed new tracking and surveillance measures. India began random testing of about 2% of passengers arriving from other countries at all international airports a week ago to minimize the risk of any new variant entering the country.
The new US travel precautions are based on consultations with public health experts and international partners, officials said. They said the talks have been prompted in part by concerns over the lack of genomic sequencing data that could help identify the emergence of a new variant.
Health experts have said they’re worried that the virus’s unabated spread could spawn a dangerous new variant for the first time since the omicron strain caused infections to surge more than a year ago.