Canada, Australia impose Covid rules on travellers from China

Australia and Canada have joined a growing list of countries requiring travellers from China to take a Covid19 test prior to boarding their flight as China battles a nationwide outbreak of the coronavirus after abruptly easing restrictions that were in place for much of the pandemicAustralian health authorities said on Sunday that from January 5 All air travellers from mainland China Hong Kong or Macao will need to show a negative Covid19 test taken within two days of their departureCanadian authorities announced similar measures that will also come into effect January 5 in a statement dated SaturdayAustralia and Canada join other countries including the US UK India Japan and several European nations in imposing tougher Covid19 measures on Chinese travellers amid concerns over a lack of data on infections in China and fears of the possibility that new variants may spreadAlso Read Explainer Advantages side effects heres all you need to know about Covid19 nasal vaccineChina which for most of the pandemic adopted a zeroCovid strategy that imposed harsh restrictions aimed at stamping out the virus abruptly eased those measures in DecemberChinese authorities previously said that from January 8 overseas travellers would no longer need to quarantine upon arriving in China paving the way for Chinese residents to travelHong Kong is also preparing for quarantinefree travel to China with plans to resume operations of more border checkpoints as early as January 8 according to a Facebook post by Hong Kong Chief Secretary Eric ChanHowever a quota will remain in place limiting the number of travellers between the two placesDepending on the first phase of the situation we will gradually expand the scale for a complete reopening of the border Chan saidIn China eased restrictions meant that residents could celebrate New Years in largescale gatherings that were prohibited for much of the pandemic even though the country is experiencing a massive outbreak of casesThere are still some worries more or less said Wu Yanxia a 51yearold Beijing resident who works at a logistic company I hope that next year everything will be normal such as domestic travelOthers hope that 2023 will bring better things after a difficult past yearWe have experienced a very uneven year particularly unforgettable with many things out of our imagination said Li Feng a teacher in Beijing adding that 2022 was a difficult year for both the people and the governmentBut I think we have come through and everything will be fine Li said All of us will be better and better in both work and lifeThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever