Biden’s management will require passengers from China airlines to test negative for Covid before entering the U. S. U. S. Amid growing fears that widespread transmission of the virus in the world’s most populous country could lead to new variants.
All air passengers 2 years of age or older from China, Hong Kong or Macau will be required to be tested for Covid-19 no more than two days before their flight to the United States and show a negative result to the departing airline, the Centers for Disease Control. and Prevention announced Wednesday.
The requirements, which apply regardless of nationality and vaccination status, begin on January 5. Travelers can download a PCR control or an immediate self-control administered and monitored through a telehealth service. Immediate control must be legal through the Food and Drug Administration. Administration or the competent national authority.
Airline passengers passing through Incheon International Airport in South Korea, as well as Toronto Pearson and Vancouver International Airports in Canada will also want to test negative for Covid before traveling to the U. S. UU. si were in China 10 days ago.
These 3 airports are home to the vast majority of travelers who originate from China but have connecting flights to the United States, according to the CDC.
The requirements come as Beijing battles a primary virus outbreak after relaxing its strict zero-covid policy following social unrest earlier this year.
The United States has limited data on the floor in China, a federal fitness official told reporters Wednesday in a call. the officer said.
“The recent immediate increase in Covid-19 transmission in China increases the possibility of new variants emerging,” the fitness official said. the scenario in China is evolving, according to the official.
The CDC is expanding its program that monitors foreign travelers for new covid variants at Los Angeles and Seattle airports. The surveillance program will now include seven airports and cover around 500 weekly flights, adding 290 flights from China and the surrounding region.
The surveillance program collects nasal swabs from foreign travelers on a voluntary basis, and then the CDC tests samples that test positive for Covid to determine if it’s a new variant of the virus.
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