Australia and Canada have joined a growing list of countries requiring travelers from China to take a COVID-19 test prior to boarding their flight, as China battles a nationwide outbreak of the virus after abruptly easing restrictions that were in place for much of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Australian health authorities yesterday said that from Thursday, all air travelers from China, including Hong Kong and Macau, would need to show a negative COVID-19 test taken within two days of their departure.
Canadian authorities in a statement on Saturday announced similar measures that would also come into effect on Thursday.
Photo: AFP
Citing a lack of epidemiological information and genomic sequencing data from China, Australian Minister for Health and Aged Care Mark Butler said Canberra has decided out of an abundance of caution to require visitors to present a negative test taken within 48 hours of their departure.
The Australian government is also considering additional measures, including testing wastewater from airplanes and voluntary sampling at airports for arrivals, Butler told a news conference.
“I want to stress that the government welcomes the resumption of travel between Australia and China... I also want to stress that this is a temporary measure, reflecting the lack of comprehensive information right now about the situation in China,” Butler said.
Canada’s temporary measure would be in place for 30 days and be reassessed as more data becomes available, the Canadian government said.
“We will adapt our measures based on available data, the science and the epidemiological situation in our country and globally to protect Canadians,” Canadian Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra said in a statement.
The US’ testing requirements also take effect on Thursday.
Travelers from China to Canada or the US who test positive more than 10 days before a flight can provide the airline with documentation of recovery in lieu of a negative test result.
The Canadian Public Health Agency on Saturday said it would implement a pilot project on wastewater testing from aircraft at Vancouver International Airport, and expand a similar project at Toronto Pearson International Airport, to assess COVID-19 prevalence in various parts of the world.
Samples are sequenced to monitor for novel variants of SARS-CoV-2, the agency said.
Meanwhile, Morocco on Saturday said it would tomorrow impose a ban on people arriving from China, regardless of nationality, to avert any new wave of COVID-19 infections.
Thousands of tourists visit Morocco from China every year, usually flying via the United Arab Emirates or Qatar.
China, which for most of the pandemic adopted a “zero COVID-19” policy that included harsh restrictions aimed at stamping out the virus, abruptly eased those measures last month.
Chinese authorities previously said that from Sunday next week, overseas travelers would no longer need to quarantine upon arriving in China, paving the way for Chinese residents to travel.
Hong Kong is also preparing for quarantine-free travel to China, with plans to resume operations of more border checkpoints as early as next week, Hong Kong Chief Secretary for Administration Eric Chan (陳國基) wrote on Facebook.
However, a quota would remain in place limiting the number of travelers between the two places.
“Depending on the first phase of the situation, we will gradually expand the scale for a complete reopening of the border,” Chan said.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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