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Coronavirus: US screening policy for travellers from China sparks anger, questions on effectiveness
- US, India, Italy and other countries differ from Britain and EU on screening travellers from China
- One US health expert says new screening protocol to have ‘zero effectiveness’
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In the short time since China announced that it will remove quarantine requirements and limits on international flights – and begin issuing travel permits – other countries have responded with different approaches to manage an expected outbound surge of travellers from the current epicentre of the Covid-19 pandemic.
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Some are welcoming the long-sequestered mainland Chinese traveller, while others have thrown up screening hurdles. Criticism ensued, with the US coming in for some of the harshest words.
Washington announced on Wednesday that it would require travellers from China, Hong Kong and Macau to present either a negative PCR or antigen self-test within 48 hours of departure.
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China to fully reopen borders and shelve mandatory quarantine from January 8
China to fully reopen borders and shelve mandatory quarantine from January 8
US public health officials noted that testing would help them contend with a lack of government data from Beijing on the apparent rapid spread of Covid-19 in China as they try to assess whether the travellers are bringing new variants of the contagion with them.
Japan, Italy, India and Taiwan are also requiring tests for travellers from mainland China.
India’s health ministry is also mandating tests for visitors from Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong and Thailand, “in view of the evolving Covid-19 situation across the world, particularly in the aforesaid countries”.
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There is little doubt that China is being hit hard by the contagion.
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