Washington, Dec 29, (dpa/GNA) – The United States is introducing restrictions on travellers coming from China, due to a surge in coronavirus cases there.
Infections have spread fast since Beijing relaxed its Covid-19 restrictions, in the wake of mass protests.
The US Centres for Disease Control, announced that from January 5, air travellers arriving from China would have to provide a negative coronavirus test before departure.
This applies, regardless of the nationality of the travellers and their vaccination status.
The test must not be older than two days.
The test, is also mandatory for travellers from the Chinese special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau.
This new requirement also applies to people, arriving from China via a third country, and those who are just transiting through the US.
Insufficient data on the infections had been provided by the Chinese side, the US authorities said.
In the first three weeks of December alone, it is estimated that 248 million people in China contracted the virus. Scientists warn that the Corona wave could spawn new variants that would then find their way to other countries.
After almost three years of strict precautions, China’s leadership abruptly announced an end to its zero-Covid policy on December 7.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, China’s strategy had been to contain the virus as best it could, and to fight even the smallest outbreaks with lockdowns, mass testing and forced quarantines.
Now, hundreds of millions of Chinese, are coming into contact with the virus for the first time.
GNA