The Centers for Disease Control has issued new testing guidelines and requirements for travelers entering the United States from China. The move comes as the Chinese Communist Party claims COVID-19 cases are on the rise in the country.
"CDC is announcing today that it will implement a requirement for a negative COVID-19 test or documentation of recovery for air passengers boarding flights to the United States originating from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau," the CDC released in a statement Wednesday. "CDC is announcing this step to slow the spread of COVID-19 in the United States during the surge in COVID-19 cases in the PRC given the lack of adequate and transparent epidemiological and viral genomic sequence data being reported from the PRC. These data are critical to monitor the case surge effectively and decrease the chance for entry of a novel variant of concern. CDC will continue to monitor the situation and adjust our approach as necessary."
However, the requirement doesn't start until late next week.
"Starting at 12:01 AM ET on January 5, all air passengers two years and older originating from the PRC will be required to get a test (such as a PCR test or an antigen self-test administered and monitored by a telehealth service or a licensed provider and authorized by the Food and Drug Administration or the relevant national authority) no more than 2 days before their departure from the PRC, Hong Kong, or Macau, and show a negative test result to the airline upon departure," the statement continues.
Starting Jan 5, 2023: Travelers flying to U.S. from China, or who have been in China in the past 10 days & are flying from certain airports, must show a negative #COVID19 test taken within 2 days before #travel to the US or documentation of recovery. https://t.co/VSJz2W6kPT pic.twitter.com/J9DujizieA
— CDC (@CDCgov) December 28, 2022
When President Donald Trump first issued travel restrictions from China at the beginning of the pandemic in January 2020, he was classified as a racist and xenophobe. Not surprisingly, President Joe Biden isn't receiving the same treatment.
Joe Biden falsely claimed in July 2020 that Donald Trump was ‘racist’ for his COVID-19 policies:
— Wendell Husebø (@WendellHusebo) December 28, 2022
As of Jan. 5, Biden will require anyone arriving from China to provide a negative Covid test.pic.twitter.com/F2XIxJrj58