U.S. Requires COVID-19 Testing For Travelers From China

The US announced new COVID-19 testing requirements Wednesday (Thursday, Dec. 29, 2022, in Manila) for all travelers from China, joining other nations imposing restrictions because of a surge of infections, Carla K. Johnson and Laura Ungar reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Photo Insert: the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cited the surge in infections and what it said was a lack of adequate and transparent information from China.

An increase in cases across China follows the rollback of the nation’s strict anti-virus controls.

China’s “zero COVID” policies had kept the country’s infection rate low but fueled public frustration and crushed economic growth. A British pandemic monitoring firm has claimed that China’s daily COVID death toll could reach 9,000.

The new US requirements, which start Jan. 5, apply to travelers regardless of their nationality and vaccination status. In a statement explaining the testing, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cited the surge in infections and what it said was a lack of adequate and transparent information from China, including genomic sequencing on the viral strains circulating in the country.

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

Some scientists are worried the COVID-19 surge in China could unleash a new coronavirus variant on the world that may or may not be similar to the ones circulating now. That’s because every infection is another chance for the virus to mutate.

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