The Biden Administration announced Wednesday that starting January 5, the government will require every traveler from China present a negative Covid-19 test result before flying to the U.S.
The test requirement will apply both to all passengers age 2 or older, flying directly to the U.S. from China, as well to passengers flying through popular third-country gateways, including Seoul, Toronto and Vancouver.
Test results must be taken within two days of departure from airports in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau.
The announcement came one day after Japan announced it would require all travelers from China show a negative Covid test before entering that country.
The requirements follow rising global concerns as China has eased its formerly draconian zero Covid policy even as the nation faces a surge of new cases.
“We know these measures will not eliminate all risk or completely prevent people who are infected from entering the United States,” a federal health official said during Wednesday’s briefing, adding that “taken together they will help limit the number of infected people and provide us an early warning about new variants.”
