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Australia announces that all travelers from China must now test negative for Covid before boarding their flight as cases spiral out of control
- Travelers coming from China to Australia must test negative for coronavirus
- Negative testing restrictions will go into effect on January 5.
- The change was announced by Health Minister Mark Butler on January 1.
Any travelers wishing to visit Australia from China will soon have to test negative for coronavirus as the nation grapples with a surge in cases.
Health Minister Mark Butler announced on Sunday that travelers will be required to take a Covid test within 48 hours of travel and show evidence of a negative result before traveling to Australia from January 5.
Butler said the change was made out of “a great deal of caution” and the “lack of complete information” coming from China.
“The decision to implement these temporary measures was made out of an abundance of caution, taking into account the dynamic and evolving situation in China and the potential for new variants to emerge in a high-transmission environment,” Butler said.
‘Australia is well positioned in its response to the pandemic. We continue to monitor the Covid-19 situation in Australia and internationally, in collaboration with medical experts.
A passenger from Beijing landing at Madrid International Airport. Spain imposed Covid testing requirements on all visitors from China on Friday
“Our absolute priority is to keep our community safe and continue to be a world leader when it comes to responding to the global Covid-19 pandemic.”
Butler said Australia continued to extend a “warm” welcome to any visitor from China.
The mandatory tests will apply to travelers from Hong Kong and Macao, in addition to those from mainland China.
China is experiencing an explosion in Covid-19 infections and deaths after Beijing reversed its policies and let the virus run rampant.
It is now said that tens of millions of Chinese contract the disease every day, but the exact number remains unknown after Beijing stopped publishing daily figures last week, saying it had become “impossible” to track cases.
According to Italian authorities, 50 percent of passengers on flights from China to the country have Covid-19.
Australia is not the first country to enforce testing requirements for travelers coming from China.
Spain, South Korea and Israel became the latest countries on Friday to impose mandatory coronavirus tests on visitors.
They joined Italy, Japan, India, Malaysia, Taiwan and the United States in requiring negative Covid tests for all travelers from mainland China, in a bid to prevent the importation of new variants from the Asian giant.
Chinese state media reacted furiously to the restrictions.
“The real intention is to sabotage China’s three years of Covid-19 control efforts and attack the country’s system,” the Global Times stated in a report.
He also posted a cartoon attacking Japan for its policies targeting Chinese citizens.
The document described the restrictions as “unfounded” and “discriminatory.”