Australia drops Covid test requirements for China arrivals

Australia drops Covid test requirements for China arrivals

The measures also apply to travellers from Hong Kong and Macau.

Travellers arriving in Australia from China will not need to take pre-departure tests from March 11. (AP pic)
SYDNEY:
Australia will drop the requirement for travellers arriving from China to test for Covid-19 before departure from midnight on March 11, the country’s health minister said in a statement today.

The measures also apply to travellers from Hong Kong and Macau.

“This is a sensible, measured decision based on decreasing Covid-19 case numbers in China, regular data updates from China on case numbers, and the fact that we have strengthened our capacity to detect and respond to emerging variants of concern within Australia of international origin,” health minister Mark Butler said.

Several other countries that implemented similar measures such as the US, South Korea and Japan have recently either repealed their arrangements or announced an intention to repeal them, he added.

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