Following Beijing’s announcement that its borders will reopen the next week, the US has joined a growing list of nations requiring Covid testing of travelers from China.
While Australia and the UK stated that there were no new regulations for travelers from China, Italy, Japan, Taiwan, and India announced the requirement for testing.
China will begin allowing more citizens to travel freely on January 8 after being closed to the global world for three years.
However, the nation’s continued Covid increase has raised suspicion.
Analysts believe that China’s reported daily caseload of 5,000 cases is significantly understated and may perhaps be closer to a million. According to reports, hospitals are overloaded and residents are having trouble getting access to basic medications.
On Wednesday, the US said a lack of “adequate and transparent” Covid data in China had contributed to the decision to require Covid tests from 5 January for travelers entering the country from China, Hong Kong and Macau.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said this was needed “to help slow the spread of the virus as we work to identify… any potential new variants that may emerge”.
