Covid In addition, Australia is contemplating taking extra actions in China, such as analyzing the wastewater drained from airplanes and doing voluntary sampling at airports.
As the incidence of COVID-19 infections continues to rise in China, Australia announced on Sunday that, beginning on January 5, it will join the growing number of countries that have introduced restrictions of this kind, requiring travelers from China to show negative COVID-19 test results.
Mark Butler, the minister of health for Australia, stated that the government has decided, out of an abundance of caution, to require visitors to present a negative test taken within 48 hours of their departure. He cited a lack of epidemiological information and genomic sequencing data from China as the reason for this decision.
Visitors coming from Hong Kong and Macau are going to be subject to the requirement as well.
According to what Butler said at a news conference, the government is also considering taking extra measures, such as analyzing wastewater from flights and doing voluntary sampling at airports for arriving passengers.
“It is important for me to emphasize that the government is pleased with the reinstatement of travel between Australia and China… “In addition, I want to emphasize that this is only a temporary measure, which is a reflection of the paucity of information that is currently available regarding the situation in China,” added Butler.
As it continues to evaluate the most recent spike in infection rates, the World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday issued a fresh call to action for the health authorities in China to frequently exchange information that is both particular and up-to-date regarding the COVID-19 situation in the country.