England to require Covid negative test for arrivals from China

Covid: England to require negative test for arrivals from China

Passengers arriving in England from China will have to provide a negative Covid test before they board a flight.

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It comes as several nations announced they would be screening travellers from China after cases surged following Beijing's decision to relax its zero-Covid policy.

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China has said it will fully reopen its borders on 8 January.Several countries, including the US, France and India, have imposed testing.

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The Department of Health and Social Care said people travelling from China on direct flights from 5 January will be asked to take a pre-departure Covid test.

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From 8 January, the UK Health Security Agency will also launch surveillance, which will see a sample of passengers arriving from China tested for the virus as they arrive.

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Health Secretary Steve Barclay said the government was taking a "balanced and precautionary approach", adding the measures were "temporary" as officials assess the latest Covid data.

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News source:BBC NEWS

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