U.S. to require negative COVID test for travelers from China 

The Biden administration announced on Wednesday that it will require travelers from China, Hong Kong, and Macau to present negative COVID-19 tests to enter the United States.

The requirement will be placed into effect on January 5 over concerns about a surge of coronavirus infections in Beijing, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Passengers must show a negative PCR or monitored antigen test less than 48 hours before their arrival. 

CDC officials said that the testing requirement will apply to all passengers flying from China regardless of their nationality and vaccination status. Additionally, the measure will also apply to travelers coming from China through a third country or those who are headed to another country but have a layover in the U.S. 

The CDC said it was establishing the requirement due to the surge in COVID-19 cases in China and "the lack of adequate and transparent epidemiological and viral genomic sequence data being reported from" it. 

"Reduced testing and case reporting in (China) and minimal sharing of viral genomic sequence data could delay the identification of new variants of concern if they arise," the CDC said in a news release.

China has been almost completely cut off from the world for three years after foreigners were completely banned from entering the country throughout 2020, and afterward only a select few with family or business there were allowed in.

China announced that it was relaxing many other domestic COVID-19 policies this month, including mandatory tests and allowing home quarantine for those with the virus. Additionally, the country announced that it would no longer require overseas travel to quarantine upon arrival and would allow a larger number of flights to enter the country.