In the first quarter of next year, the British government plans to require travellers from China to undergo Covid-19 testing, following other nations' lead.
The UK government has defined the requirement to present a negative Covid-19 test before leaving China as "balanced and prudent." The requirement will take effect on January 5th.
Due to concerns over the rising number of cases in the Asian nation, the plan will cause the British government to lag behind the US and a number of other nations by requiring testing for all travellers from China.
The new procedures, which include proposals for surveillance testing of a sample of travellers arriving in England, will be kept under "frequent review," the British Department of Health emphasised.
As Beijing announced intentions to start issuing new passports and visas for international travel, worries over the rising case numbers in China have grown recently.
As cases increased after China loosened its rigorous Covid-19 regulations, the British government claimed that China had not adequately shared information about the situation there.
According to the Department of Health, airlines will be responsible for verifying passengers' negative test results.
"The research indicates that, unlike in the UK where vaccines are maintaining high population protection, the recent surge in cases in China is caused by poor natural immunity and lower vaccine uptake, including boosters."
Professor Susan Hopkins, UK Health Security Agency
"It is right for us to adopt a balanced and precautionary approach by announcing these temporary limits while we review the data," Britain's health secretary Steve Barclay said. "Covid instances in China are rising ahead of their reopening their borders next week."
This enables the UK Health Security Agency's top scientists to quickly acquire insight into any potential novel variations that may be circulating in China.
Along with the US, Taiwan, South Korea, Italy, India, and Italy have all laid out plans to demand that tourists from China undergo viral testing.
Even while some academics questioned the value of such restrictions, some Tory MPs have been pressing for a more forceful response from the British government.
The Covid-19 test must have been taken no later than two days prior to travel, per the revised regulations.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization's chairman, Professor Sir Andrew Pollard, stated on Friday morning: "Trying to outlaw a virus by altering what we do with travel has already been proved to not work very well. That was demonstrated by the travel restrictions placed on citizens of several nations during the pandemic.
The important thing is that we have surveillance so that when a virus is spreading within our population here in the UK or Europe, we are able to pick that up and predict what might happen with the health systems, in particular the more vulnerable in the population, he said on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.
The surveillance testing will begin on January 8 under the direction of the UK Health Security Agency (HSA).
Professor Susan Hopkins, the HSA's main medical adviser, stated that staff members would keep an eye on the spread of any fresh Covid-19 variations.
In contrast to the UK, where vaccines are maintaining high population protection, the evidence suggests that the recent surge in cases in China is caused by low natural immunity and lower vaccine uptake, including boosters.
"We are strengthening our surveillance in addition to our current routine testing protocol in order to boost our intelligence."
Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland do not have direct flights from China, but the British government promised to work with the devolved governments to ensure that protections are put in place throughout the UK.
The Department of Health said that the number of travellers arriving from China remained low and emphasised that vaccination remained the best defence against COVID-19.
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