England to require negative Covid test report for arrivals from China

London, Dec 31 (EFE).- The British government has confirmed that from Jan.5 all passengers arriving from China will need to present a negative test report for Covid-19 before their departure.

The Department of Health and Social Care said in a statement that for now the measure will apply only to travelers coming from China via direct flights to British airports.

Although currently there are no non-stop flights from China to Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, the British government has been working with these countries to ensure the measure is implemented across the United Kingdom.

This measure from England comes after China confirmed reopening its borders from Jan.8 for the first time since March 2020, when the Covid pandemic broke out.

In addition, from Jan.8, the UK Health Security Agency is to launch a surveillance program in which a sample of passengers arriving in England from mainland China will be tested for Covid at the point of their arrival.

The United States, Italy, India, Taiwan, South Korea, Malaysia and Japan are other countries that have started testing of passengers arriving from China, following a spike in cases due to the relaxation of its measures against the coronavirus. EFE

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