The government has announced that travellers arriving from mainland China to England will need to submit a negative pre-departure coVID test.
In recent days, a growing number of countries, including the US have announced similar rules.
According to the Department of Health and Social Care, the temporary and precautionary change will take effect on 5 January.
After it removed some of its notoriously hard coronavirus rules such as regular PCR testing, there has been an increase in the number of infections in China.
There are concerns that it could increase global cases, as its border controls will be relaxed next week.
According to leaked notes, officials estimate that 250 million people could have contracted the virus within the first 20 days.
Shanghai, China’s largest city, had 5.43 Million positive cases last week among its 25,000,000 residents.
Because asymptomatic cases cannot be recorded anymore, the true number could be much higher.
New rules regarding Chinese arrivals have been introduced in India, Spain, Italy and Japan.
France’s transport minister stated Friday that changes would be made starting January 1.
Before flying from China, negative tests will be required. Masks must be worn and tests will take place upon arrival in France.
According to the European Union’s Health Agency, mandatory screenings for Chinese travellers is not justified.
Will Quince, the UK’s health minister, stated that the “key threat” to the country was the possibility of new variants. However, experts agree that travel restrictions will not be effective in such an environment.
Today’s announcement was met with anger by the Tory MP for South Thanet Craig Mackinlay who stated that he opposed “new, creeping moves toward restrictions & lockdowns”, but that “preventing entry into positive cases is a sensible step”.
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China rejected criticisms of its COVID data, and stated that it expected future mutations to potentially be more transmissible, but less severe.
International travellers will be able to leave the country without having to go through quarantine. This is effective from 8 January. Due to the large number of infectious diseases in the country, it is unlikely that this requirement will be any longer effective.
However, all incoming travelers will need to pass a negative screening before they can leave.
China’s relaxation of rules was followed by a rare round of protests which appeared to shock its leaders.
Due to the low vaccination rate for elderly and vulnerable persons, there are concerns that China could see an increase in the number of cases.
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