United States Announces New Travel Requirements For Travellers From China

Effective January 5, 2023 travellers from China, Hong Kong and Macau will need to present negative Covid-19 tests before entering the United States.

This new requirement has been announced by U.S. government on Wednesday to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (C.D.C.), the obligation for testing will apply to all flying passengers regardless of nationality or vaccination status.

It will also apply to Chinese travellers who enter the US through a third country, as well as those who link through the US to other locations.

Similar restrictions have previously been implemented in Italy and Japan. All the countries across the globe are looking closely at new outbreak in China that infected

“Leaked notes from Chinese health officials estimate 250 million Covid-19 infections in December”
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Previously, India has implemented similar restrictions for travellers from China. Before entering India, visitors from China and four other Asian nations must submit a negative Covid test.

Exact United States China Health Alert Issued On December 28

Effective January 5 at 12:01 Eastern Time, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will require a negative COVID-19 test result, taken within two days of departure, or proof of recovery from the virus within the last 90 days, for all travelers, age two years and older, to the United States on flights originating from the People’s Republic of China (PRC), including the Special Administrative Regions (SAR) of Hong Kong and Macau.

This public health policy is due to the surge in COVID-19 cases in the PRC and the risk of the emergence of a new viral variant given the lack of adequate and transparent epidemiological and viral genomic sequence data being reported from the PRC.

These data are critical to monitor the case surge effectively and decrease the chance for entry of a novel variant of concern.

These requirements apply to all air passengers regardless of vaccination status or nationality. This will also apply to persons traveling from the PRC via third country transit and to passengers connecting through the United States onward to further destinations.

Passengers must show one of the following to the airline or risk being denied boarding:

A paper or digital copy of negative COVID-19 viral test results taken within two days of boarding. For a list of authorized tests, check here , or
Documentation of recovery for passengers who tested positive more than 10 days and fewer than 90 days before boarding a flight to the United States.

Only in very limited cases will an exception to these testing requirements be granted when emergency travel must occur to protect someone’s life or health from a serious threat or danger.