UPDATE - US to require travelers from China to show negative COVID test results

ADDS CDC ANNOUNCEMENT

By Betul Yuruk

NEW YORK (AA) - The US will require travelers from China to show negative coronavirus test results as part of new precautions beginning Jan. 5, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced Wednesday.

The move by US officials comes amid an alarming rise in infections in China.

''The CDC is announcing this step to slow the spread of COVID-19 in the United States during the surge in COVID-19 cases in China given the lack of adequate and transparent epidemiological and viral genomic sequence data being reported from China,'' according to the CDC.

US officials raised concerns earlier about the transparency of data coming from China concerning new cases.

Passengers boarding flights from Hong Kong and Macau to the US will also be required to present a negative test, according to the health agency.

Travelers 2 and older will need a PCR test or an antigen self-administered test and will be monitored by a telehealth service or a licensed provider no more than two days before their departure, it said, adding that the requirement applies to passengers regardless of nationality and vaccination status.

China announced a further easing of coronavirus management as of Jan. 8, with the National Health Commission (NHC) saying Beijing will also not impose a quarantine on those entering the country.

The NHC stopped releasing statistics for asymptomatic cases earlier this month.

The world’s most populous nation also dumped its strict “zero-COVID” policy this month, following unrest and unprecedented protests in parts of the country.