US to require negative COVID-19 test for travelers coming from China
Abigail Adcox
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The United States will require all travelers coming from China to show a negative COVID-19 test result starting on Jan. 5, 2023, as cases surge in the mainland.
Passengers two years and older flying to the U.S. from China will be required to show a negative test taken within two days of their departure from airports in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Wednesday.
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“Pre-departure testing and the requirement to show a negative test result has been shown to decrease the number of infected passengers boarding airplanes, and it will help to slow the spread of the virus as we work to identify and understand any potential new variants that may emerge,” the CDC said in a statement.
Health officials cited concerns surrounding the Chinese government’s COVID-19 data amid the current outbreak of cases as reasoning for the measure.
The requirement will apply to all air passengers coming from China, regardless of their nationality. Travelers that have layovers at third-country gateways, including Toronto Pearson International Airport, Vancouver International Airport, and Incheon International Airport in Seoul, will also be required to show a negative test.
People who have tested positive more than 10 days before departure can also show documentation of recovery from COVID-19 in place of the negative test.
Japan and Taiwan have already announced similar measures. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Tuesday that the country would require a negative COVID-19 test for travelers arriving from China starting Dec. 30.
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COVID-19 cases have risen in China in recent weeks, coinciding with the country’s sudden departure from its “zero-COVID” policies, although Chinese health officials have stopped publishing daily COVID-19 data. On Monday, China also announced it would lift all COVID-19 quarantine requirements for incoming arrivals, including visitors and Chinese nationals.