China Covid: US testing rule meets collective shrug

The US travel rule has sparked a quiet response in a country struggling with outbreaks and where regular, mass Covid testing was up has recently become a daily reality for many millions of people. people.

Some Chinese were disappointed with the Biden administration's new testing requirement for travelers from their country. Others expressed contempt, calling it the latest Western effort to contain China's rise. But many were simply indifferent.

For many Chinese, the US rule that they must show negative Covid tests to visit is a tangential development. China is grappling with severe outbreaks that have sickened countless people and overwhelmed hospitals and funeral homes. Many are focused on trying to hold on to their jobs and homes as the economy slumps.

And for many who plan to travel, an additional Covid test is not a major inconvenience. These tests were until recently – for tens of millions of citizens – an almost daily routine imposed by the authorities. And Chinese tourists know they are welcome in many places in Asia and beyond.

"It's just a Covid test before traveling", said Li Kuan, 33, a software engineer at a tech start-up in southern China's city of Guangzhou. "We've done a bunch of tests like this over the past three years."

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention rule, announced Wednesday, will require negative tests from anyone, regardless of nationality or vaccination status, who wishes to board a flight to the United States from China. It will apply to travelers to Hong Kong and Macao, as well as anyone coming from China transiting through or entering the United States through a third country.

The rule will take effect on January 5, three days before China plans to drop strict quarantine requirements that have been in place for inbound travelers for nearly three years.

People around the world are excited about the potential boon to business and tourism that would come with an increase in Chinese tourist numbers. But some are also concerned about the way cases have soared in the country since early December, when China abruptly lifted its "zero Covid" policy after mass protests against lockdowns that threatened the ruling Communist Party. /p>

Officials in the United States fear the coronavirus is spreading rapidly in China, allowing new variants to develop and spread around the world.

ImageA Covid patient being carried through a crowded hallway at a hospital in Tianjin, China, on Wednesday .Credit...Noel Celis/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

< p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">Wednesday, the C.D.C. said it required a negative Covid test for travelers from China to slow the spread of the virus in the United States. As new variants of the virus emerge around the world, China's "reduced" testing and reporting of cases and "minimal" sharing of epidemiological data could delay their identification, the agency said.

< p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" > Italy and Japan recently imposed similar travel restrictions, and India now requires negative Covid test results and random screening at airports for passengers arriving from China, including Hong Kong, as well as Japan, southern Ko...