As China is seeing large number of Covid cases on a daily basis, India and the US have ramped up anti-Covid measures and has made RT-PCR tests mandatory for passengers coming from China.
Five countries including India, US, Italy, Japan and Taiwan have made Covid tests mandatory for people coming from China.
China has ended its zero-Covid policy and after three years of being closed to the world, it will let people travel more freely from January 8.
Covid test mandatory for travellers from 5 countries: India made a Covid-19 negative test mandatory for flyers from China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand from January 1, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Thursday.
Travellers from these countries would have to upload their test reports on an India government website before their departure, minister Mansukh Mandaviya wrote on Twitter.
RT-PCR test has been made mandatory for flyers coming from China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand from 1st January 2023. They will have to upload their reports on the Air Suvidha portal before travel.
— Dr Mansukh Mandaviya (@mansukhmandviya) December 29, 2022
What are the US authorities doing right now?
Why now? China has lifted its lockdown and abandoned its zero-Covid policy in a completely unexpected shift in policies. The openness of its economy generated a ripple effect and alarm in many nations, including India and the US which is why preventative measures like mandatory tests are being implemented.
Latest update from China: On December 26, China's National Health Commission declared that from January 8, quarantine measures for travellers arriving from overseas will be mandated.
Currently, incoming travellers must quarantine for five days at a hotel before returning home for three days.
Despite the fact that the government ceased providing statistics on Covid-19 and its cases last week, multiple sources and expert assessments have revealed that over million people can die due to Covid in China, and 10 million can be infected.
Read More: Wary China stops publishing Covid data after leaked numbers say they have 250 million cases