New Delhi: The United States is preparing to end Covid-19 testing for people travelling from China from Friday, according to an Associated Press report. People told the news agency that the Biden administration is ready to roll back testing since cases, hospitalisations, and deaths were declining in China and the US had gathered better information about the surge.
On December 28, 2022, the restrictions were put in place which took effect from January 5, 2023, due to the surge in infections in China after the authorities eased its restrictions. According to the report, US officials expressed their concern about China not being truthful about the number of Covid cases and deaths. At the time, the US also said that there was a lack of transparency from the Chinese government about the surge and the variants.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expanded genomic surveillance at several US airports. They collected swabs from hundreds of passengers on weekly flights from China and even tested the wastewater from planes, as per the report.
The Traveller-based Genomic Surveillance Program will continue to monitor travellers from China and more than 30 other countries.
As per the rules imposed in January, passengers travelling either directly or via another country from China, Hong Kong and Macau to the US have to show a negative Covid-19 test result from no more than two days ago and provide a test before boarding their flight. Passengers could also show documentation of having caught and recovered from Covid.
China saw a major surge in Covid infections and deaths in early December after the authorities lifted its zero-Covid strategy. The easing of the rules was announced after China saw a rare public protest against the policy which confined millions of people to their homes and sparked protests and demands for President Xi Jinping to resign.