PremiumSince China relaxed strict measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus, the country has experienced a surge of cases, overwhelming hospitals and prompting countries including the United States, India, and Japan to impose restrictions on travelers from the mainland.
Australia is not making any changes to its rules around allowing travelers from China into the country, despite measures by some countries to require mandatory Covid-19 tests, said Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Thursday.
"We will take the appropriate advice from the health experts," Albanese told the Australian Broadcasting Corp, as quoted by Reuters.
"There is no change in the travel advice at this point in time but we are continuing to monitor the situation, as we continue to monitor the impact of Covid here in Australia as well as around the world," he added.
Since China relaxed strict measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus, the country has experienced a surge of cases, overwhelming hospitals and prompting countries including the United States, India, and Japan to impose restrictions on travelers from the mainland.
Australia and China recently resumed diplomatic dialogue after relations between the countries hit a low point following criticism by Australia of China's handling of Covid-19. In 2020, China imposed trade sanctions on several major Australian exports, Reuters reported.
All travelers to the US from China will be required to take a Covid-19 test no more than two days before travel and provide a negative test before boarding their flight. The testing applies to anyone 2 years and older.
Passengers who tested positive more than 10 days before traveling can provide documentation and recovery from Covid in lieu of a negative test result, the officials said on the call.
Early in the pandemic, the US barred entry to foreigners travelling from China, weeks after the virus first emerged there three years ago. Americans were allowed to return home and flights from China were funnelled to selected airports where passengers were screened for the illness.
The increase in cases across China follows the rollback of the nation's strict anti-virus controls. China's "zero COVID" policies had kept China's infection rate low but fuelled public frustration and crushed economic growth.
(With inputs from Reuters)