Travelers check in at Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport on December 12, 2022, as China eases domestic travel restrictions.
Qilai Shen | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The Biden administration will require airline passengers traveling from China to test negative for Covid before entering the US, as fears are growing that widespread transmission of the virus on the planet’s most populous country could end in latest variants.
All airline passengers aged two years and over who’re from China, Hong Kong or Macau will be required to undergo a Covid test not more than two days before flying to the US and present a negative test result to the airline upon departure, Inspection and disease prevention was announced on Wednesday.
The requirements, which apply no matter nationality and vaccination status, go into effect on January 5. Travelers could also be given a PCR test or rapid self test, which is managed and monitored by a telehealth service. The rapid test should be approved by the Food and Drug Administration or the relevant national authority.
Airline passengers transiting through Incheon International Airport in South Korea and Toronto Pearson and Vancouver International Airports in Canada will even be required to test negative for Covid before flying to the US in the event that they have been to China 10 days prior.
According to the CDC, these three airports serve the overwhelming majority of travelers whose journeys originated in China but have connecting flights to the US.
The testing requirements come as China battles a serious virus outbreak after easing its strict zero Covid policy within the wake of civil unrest earlier this yr.
The United States has limited information on the situation in China, a federal health official told reporters in a phone call Wednesday. Testing has declined in China and it’s unclear what variants are circulating on the mainland as genomic surveillance data can also be limited, the official said.
“The recent rapid increase in transmission in China raises the potential for latest variants to emerge,” said a health official. According to the official, the US is taking proactive steps to protect public health and be vigilant to latest variants of Covid because the situation in China develops.
The CDC is expanding its program that monitors international travelers for latest Covid variants to include airports in Los Angeles and Seattle. The surveillance program will now cover seven airports and canopy around 500 flights per week, including 290 flights from and around China.
The surveillance program voluntarily collects nasal swabs from international travelers, and the CDC then analyzes the Covid-positive samples to determine in the event that they are a latest variant of the virus.