Along with passengers arriving immediately from China, folks arriving from South Korea’s Incheon Worldwide Airport, Toronto Pearson Worldwide Airport and Vancouver Worldwide Airport should current unfavorable Covid-19 assessments two days earlier than flying to the US if they’re in China have been inside the final 10 days.
“Pre-departure testing and the requirement to have a unfavorable check consequence will scale back the variety of contaminated passengers boarding planes and can assist sluggish the unfold of the virus whereas we work to establish potential new variants and to grasp which will happen,” a federal well being official informed reporters on Wednesday. The officer spoke on situation of anonymity as a requirement of the briefing.
A senior administration official, who was granted anonymity to debate the plan, mentioned the administration is appearing partially in response to what it believes is an absence of ample transparency and genomic sequencing knowledge from the present outbreak in China. The Chinese language Embassy in Washington, DC, didn’t reply to a request for remark.
Beijing has insisted its sudden abandonment of Covid controls displays a “science-based and focused” response to the illness, and has fretted over international media experiences of mass deaths and overwhelmed hospital amenities. “A small variety of Western media shops have intentionally exaggerated and even misrepresented China’s adjustment of Covid insurance policies,” Chinese language International Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin mentioned on Wednesday.
There’s skepticism amongst US well being consultants whether or not requiring incoming passengers from China to check unfavorable for Covid will assist scale back infections within the US
“We have by no means been in a position to present that border closures or screening, as such, materially altered illness threat out of the country,” mentioned Michael Osterholm, director of the Heart for An infection Analysis and Coverage on the College of Minnesota.
Airways are liable for confirming unfavorable assessments or medical data for all passengers earlier than boarding a flight or in any other case denying them entry. Beneath rules from the Division of Transportation, China-based airways are at the moment allowed to function scheduled passenger flights to the US eight instances per week, though dozens extra are arriving from surrounding areas.
Following China’s determination to implement a passenger capability moratorium on a number of US-operated flights final fall as a result of Covid-19 issues, DOT sanctioned 4 Chinese language carriers as a reciprocal measure and suspended dozens extra flights this yr.
The CDC may also increase its voluntary genome surveillance program to Seattle and Los Angeles, bringing the whole to seven airports and 290 weekly flights. This system will enable vacationers to be examined upon arrival and constructive samples to be sequenced for Covid-19 variants.
Federal well being officers mentioned they’d monitor the scenario on the bottom in China and regulate the coverage “as wanted” when requested what the standards for lifting the brand new journey necessities could be. The US has provided China Covid-19 vaccines, they added.
“China has publicly acknowledged that it appreciates the provide however doesn’t want the assist,” a separate federal well being official informed reporters.
The US recorded almost 500,000 Covid-19 infections within the week ended December 21, in keeping with CDC knowledge. Nonetheless, public well being officers warn that many infections are now not reported to public well being officers because of the reputation of fast at-home antigen assessments.
Hospitalizations and deaths within the US are additionally on the rise, elevating issues from public well being officers that uptake of the bivalent Covid-19 vaccine stays low. As of December 21, fewer than 38 p.c of individuals aged 65 and over – who’re most liable to opposed results from COVID-19 an infection – have acquired the up to date vaccine.
The CDC recommends masking whereas touring, self-monitoring for signs, and testing three to 5 days after arrival from worldwide journey.
“We all know these measures won’t eradicate all dangers or fully stop contaminated folks from coming into the US,” the federal well being official mentioned. “However taken collectively, they may assist restrict the variety of folks contaminated and provides us early warning of latest variants.”
Oriana Pawlyk and Adam Cancryn contributed to this report.
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