Staff Reports
The US will start requiring travelers from China to submit to COVID-19 tests, health officials said. Other countries such as India, Taiwan, and Japan have also started implementing similar measures after Beijing lifted its zero-COVID policies.
According to the officials, those traveling from China, including those who are 2 years old and above, will no longer be allowed to pass without a negative test starting January 5.
Officials stated that those who tested positive for COVID-19 within 10 days before a flight would be allowed to provide proof of recovery.
China had recently started dismantling its strict COVID policies, which were some of the most stringent in the world.
Following widespread protests, the government decided to lift the restrictions. This means that COVID is now spreading unchecked and could infect millions of people a day.
Despite the government's efforts, China's official figures on the number of deaths and the number of people infected with COVID-19 have been criticized.
Experts believe that the virus could infect a million people a day. On the other hand, international modeling organizations have estimated that China could experience over two million deaths.
US officials cited China's lack of transparency regarding the situation in the country as one of the factors that prompted the country to impose travel restrictions.
The US and China's response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been significantly different.
Early in the pandemic, the US experienced high infection rates. This gave China an opportunity to argue that its strict COVID-19 prevention measures had actually saved lives.
Despite China's high vaccination rate, it has still not authorized the use of foreign mRNA vaccines. According to data released by the country's government last week, the vaccination rate for adults who had previously had booster shots dropped to 57.9%.
China has nine approved COVID-19 vaccines. However, it has not updated its vaccines against the highly contagious Omicron variant.
In June, the US lifted its 17-month-old requirement for travelers from China to pass through an air test positive for COVID-19. However, it still requires non-US citizens to get vaccinated for the virus.
The preceding is a summary of an article that originally appeared on News Max.
