Covid Rule in China: Health Secretary Mark Butler Explains New Covid Rule, Negative Airport Test

Health Minister Mark Butler explained why the government has introduced new rules for passengers traveling from China to Australia.

Travelers entering Australia will be required to take a negative Covid-19 test at the airport within 48 hours of boarding a flight into the country from Thursday.

It happens when China endures the world’s largest Covid outbreak in historywith hundreds of millions of people potentially infected.

“A key driver of this decision is what the World Health Organization has described as a lack of comprehensive information about the very rapidly changing situation in China,” Mr. Butler told Sunrise on Monday.

“We think it’s a balanced decision, a modest decision.”

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Most other major countries, including the US, Canada, England and France, participate in the exchange of genomic sequencing data, which allows countries to track the emergence of new variants.

“We know that what is happening in China is very serious wave of CovidMr Butler said.

What worries us and what The World Health Organization has described over the last 48 hours is a lack of information.”

The decision came before China announced on Jan. 8 that it would ease quarantine requirements for incoming travelers for the first time since 2020.

It will also resume issuing visas for residents to travel abroad, which is expected to spark a tourism boom between the two countries.

However, Mr. Butler stressed that the decision to impose restrictions on Chinese travelers is not intended to discourage travel.

“I want to emphasize that we warmly welcome the resumption of travel between our two countries,” he said.

“I know that hundreds of thousands of Australians, of Chinese descent in particular, are looking forward to reuniting with family and friends they may not have seen, except on screen, for months if not years.”

“This is really the only significant country in the world where we haven’t seen travel resumed, so this is a very positive development, but we need to make sure we have the information we need to protect the health of Australians.”

Last Thursday, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged China to be more open about the pandemic. It is “understandable” that some countries have introduced restrictions in response to the surge in Covid-19, he said.

But on Friday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin insisted: “Since the outbreak, China has openly and transparently shared relevant information and data with the international community, including the WHO.

“We have shared the sequence of the new coronavirus for the first time, thus making an important contribution to the development of related vaccines (and) drugs in other countries.” However, Spain, South Korea and Israel introduced mandatory coronavirus tests for visitors from China on Friday.

They have joined Italy, Japan, India, Malaysia, Taiwan and the United States in demanding negative Covid tests for all travelers from mainland China to avoid importing new options from the Asian giant.

France begins testing passengers from China

France, meanwhile, began testing passengers arriving from China on Sunday to monitor potential Covid variants, Health Minister François Brown said.

“This control on arrival is not a control that prevents citizens from entering our territory, but a more scientific control that will allow us to very accurately check various options,” said Mr. Brown at Charles de Gaulle airport north of Paris.

“Essentially, these are variants of Omicron that are currently in China,” Brown said, adding that there will be “a discussion at a European level to harmonize this model” of testing this week.

From Sunday, visitors from China must wear a mask and be prepared to take a random test upon arrival.

– with AFP

Originally published as Health Secretary Mark Butler Reveals Reason for New Covid Rule for China