No compulsory Covid tests for China passengers but positive samples will be fast-tracked to spot new variants
Covid tests taken by people arriving from China into the UK will be prioritised for genomic sequencing in a bid to spot new variants,Ministers have decided to stop short of following the US, Italy, Japan and Taiwan by introducing compulsory testing for passengers from China after a split in Cabinet and a threatened backlash from Tory MPs.
Earlier this month President Xi Jinping ended China’s strict zero-Covid strategy, but due to a low level of vaccination, tens of millions of citizens have now contracted the virus, leading to hospitals across the world’s most populated nation being overwhelmed. Since Beijing announced that international flights would also open up again, the UK Government is believed to have held several meetings with health chiefs and its scientific advisors, but ministers are believed to remain at least 24 hours from taking a final decision on whether to implement any Covid precautions on passengers arriving from China., but countries such as France and Australia have followed the same approach as the UK, with no measures being announced.
He tweeted: “China are three years behind us. They pursued a zero-Covid strategy that failed despite relentless violent authoritarianism. Covid is endemic in the UK. The health and economic harms of lockdowns, travel bans, and entry restrictions all outweighed the benefits with hindsight.”
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