US to Relax Covid-19 Testing Restrictions for Travelers from China on Friday

The United States is planning to relax Covid-19 testing restrictions for travelers from China as soon as Friday, according to a source familiar with the decision. This follows the announcement in December that the US would require all travelers from China to show a negative Covid test result before flying to the country.

The Biden administration is planning to end the requirement on Friday, a senior administration official confirmed Tuesday. This decision comes after a large wave of infections in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and a lack of transparency by Chinese officials surrounding the surge.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had announced in late December that it planned to resume requiring travelers to prove they had tested negative for the virus before flying to the U.S. from China, Hong Kong, and Macau. This was in response to the country’s relaxation of its so-called “zero COVID” policy, which led to a surge in cases.

However, with a decline in Covid cases, hospitalizations, and deaths and more data surrounding the variants that were circulating in China, the US is now planning to relax the testing restrictions. This decision is part of an effort to protect US citizens from the spread of the virus.

The new policy is expected to take effect on Friday. It is unclear if the US will continue to require travelers from China to show a negative Covid test result in the future.