The US will require travelers from China to have a Covid test if the virus spreads

The US is expected to require passengers traveling from China – where the coronavirus is spreading rapidly – to present negative tests for entry.

Federal health officials announced the requirement Wednesday, effective January 5 at midnight, as Covid-19 continues to spread in China.

“The recent rapid increase in transmission in China increases the potential for new variants,” one of the officials said.

Passengers two years old and older departing from China, Hong Kong or Macau must take Covid-19 tests two days before departure for the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). People of all nationalities and vaccination statuses must comply.

Passengers who have visited China 10 days prior to departure from Toronto Pearson International Airport and Vancouver International Airport in Canada and Incheon International Airport in South Korea are also required to present a negative Covid-19 test prior to departure for the United States. Those three airports had many connecting flights from China, according to the CDC.

The decision comes as China faces a major outbreak of the coronavirus, having recently lifted its strict “zero Covid” policy that has been in place throughout the pandemic.

China has provided little surveillance data on the surge and has rejected US offers to send more vaccines, federal officials said.

In China, hospitals are full of patients and corpses fill the crematoria, the Wall Street Journal reported. Drugs for fever are running out.

The CDC has a surveillance program that monitors international travelers at airports for new coronavirus variants. The agency is expanding it to include airports in Los Angeles and Seattle, meaning it screens seven airports and about 500 flights a week, including 290 flights from China and the region.

Japan and Malaysia are among the countries that have also imposed restrictions on people entering from China.

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