The US is relaxing COVID testing rules for travelers from China
The people, who were not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, said the government decided to roll back testing requirements as cases, hospitalizations and deaths in China decline and the US gathers better information about the surge have.
The restrictions were introduced on December 28 and went into effect on January 5 amid a spike in infections in China, after the country eased the pandemic restrictions sharply and US public health officials raised concerns their Chinese counterparts were not being honest with the world true number of infections and deaths. The Washington Post had reported on the expected change of government for the first time on Tuesday.
At the time, US officials also said the restriction was necessary to protect US citizens and communities due to a lack of transparency from the Chinese government about the magnitude of the surge or the variants circulating in China.
As part of their response, earlier this year the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expanded genomic surveillance at several US airports, collecting volunteer samples from passengers on board hundreds of weekly flights from China and testing sewage on board planes. The Traveler-based Genomic Surveillance Program will continue to monitor travelers from China and more than 30 other countries.
Rules imposed in January require travelers from China, Hong Kong and Macau to the United States to take a COVID-19 test no more than two days before travel and present a negative test before boarding their flight. The test is for people 2 years and older, including US citizens.
It also applied to people traveling from China via a third country and to people transiting via the US when traveling to other destinations. Anyone who tests positive more than 10 days before the flight may provide documentation showing they have recovered from COVID-19 in lieu of a negative test result.
Airlines have been left to confirm negative tests and documentation of recovery before passengers board.
China has seen a spike in infections and deaths after backing away from its “zero-COVD” strategy in early December following rare public protests over policies confining millions in their homes and protests and calls for the president to step down Xi Jinping triggered.
But as China eased its strict rules, infections and deaths rose, and parts of the country saw their hospitals overwhelmed with infected patients seeking help for weeks. Still, the Chinese government has been slow to release data on the number of deaths and infections.
The US decision to lift restrictions comes at a time when US-China relations are strained. Biden last month ordered the downing of a Chinese spy balloon after it crossed the continental United States. The Biden administration has also released US intelligence findings raising concerns that Beijing is considering providing weapons to Russia for its ongoing war in Ukraine.
Earlier Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang warned Beijing and Washington would be headed for “conflict and confrontation” unless the US changes course.
Qin’s comments came a day after Xi said in an unusually poignant speech that “Western countries, led by the United States, have implemented comprehensive containment, encirclement and suppression of China.”
White House officials tried to downplay the hot rhetoric coming out of Beijing.
“There is no change in the stance of the United States when it comes to these bilateral relations,” said White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby. “The President believes these tensions obviously need to be recognized but can be worked through.”
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