Travellers arriving in England from China will need to show negative COVID test

Published

2 years ago

December 30, 2022

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People arriving in England from mainland China will have to provide a negative COVID test before flying, the government has said.

A growing list of countries, including the US, have announced similar rules in recent days.

The Department of Health and Social Care said the “precautionary and temporary” measure would take effect from 5 January.

The negative test must have been done no more than two days before departure.

Some arrivals will also be tested for potential new COVID variants, although it’s believed those circulating in China are the same as in the UK and the rest of Europe.

The government said it was working with the administrations in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to get the same rules in place there.

However, there are no direct flights to those nations from China.

There has been a surge in infections in China after it rowed back some of its notoriously tough coronavirus rules, such as regular PCR testing.

With its border controls also being eased next week and more people set to travel abroad, there are worries it could lead to an increase in global cases.

Officials estimated 250 million people are likely to have contracted the virus in the first 20 days of December, according to leaked notes.

Shanghai last week had 5.43 million positive cases but the true number may be much higher as asymptomatic cases are no longer recorded.

China has been hit with the new rules because of “a lack of comprehensive health information”, the Department of Health said.

It added: “The situation remains under review and the UK is working with China on next steps. If there are improvements in information sharing and greater transparency then temporary measures will be reviewed.”

Health Secretary Steve Barclay said the country was taking a “balanced and precautionary approach”.

Professor Susan Hopkins, chief medical advisor at the UK Health Security Agency, said the rise in cases in China was believed to be “due to low natural immunity and lower vaccine uptake including boosters rather than the emergence of new COVID-19 variants”.

Spain, Italy, Japan, South Korea, the US and India are among those to have recently introduced new rules on arrivals from the country.

On Friday, France’s transport minister said it would also bring in changes from 1 January.

Negative tests will be needed before flying from China, masks must be worn on the plane and tests will be carried out on arrival in France.

COVID regulations for different countries

US: Starting on 5 January, the US will bring in mandatory COVID-19 tests on travellers from China. All plane passengers aged two and above will have to have a negative result no more than two days before leaving from the mainland, Hong Kong or Macau. The US Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention said Americans should also reconsider travel to those places.

JAPAN: The country will require a negative COVID-19 test upon arrival for travellers from mainland China. Those who test positive will be required to quarantine for seven days. New border measures for China will come into effect at midnight on 30 December. The government will also limit requests from airlines to increase flights to China.

INDIA: From 1 January, people travelling to India from China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand must have a negative COVID before their departure and upload it on an Indian government website.

ITALY: The nation has ordered COVID-19 antigen swabs and virus sequencing for all travellers coming from China. Milan’s main airport, Malpensa, has started testing passengers arriving from Beijing and Shanghai.

TAIWAN: Beginning on 1 January, all passengers on direct flights from China, as well as by boat at two offshore islands, will have to take PCR tests upon arrival.

SOUTH KOREA: The nation will require travellers from China to provide a negative COVID test result before departure.

SPAIN: People travelling from China to Spain will be required to test negative for COVID or prove they have been fully vaccinated against the disease.

MALAYSIA: The country will screen body temperatures of all inbound travellers, including those from China, and those detected with fever or other symptoms will be tested for COVID. It will also sample wastewater from aircraft arriving from China for coronavirus and will conduct tests to detect the entry of any new variants.

FRANCE: Negative tests will be needed before flying from China from 1 January, masks must be worn on the plane and tests will also be carried out on arrival in France.

COUNTRIES MONITORING THE SITUATION

AUSTRALIA: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Australia was continuing to monitor the situation in respect of China “as we continue to monitor the impact of COVID here in Australia as well as around the world”.

PHILIPPINES: The country is being “very cautious” and could impose measures such as testing requirements on visitors from China, but not an outright ban, transportation secretary Jaime Bautista said.

The European Union’s health agency has said the introduction of mandatory COVID screenings of travellers from China is “unjustified”.

Reacting to the UK government announcement, Tory MP Craig Mackinlay said he was “opposed to new, creeping moves towards restrictions and lockdowns” but “preventing entry to positive cases is a sensible move”.

China has rejected criticism of its COVID data and said it expects future mutations to be potentially more transmissible but less severe.

The country’s own requirement for international travellers to quarantine is ending on 8 January. It’s thought to no longer be effective given the high number of infections now circulating within the country.

However, incoming travellers will still need to show a negative test before departure.

China’s loosening of the rules followed a rare wave of protests over the country’s Draconian COVID laws that appeared to surprise its leaders.

There are fears the increase in cases there could lead to many deaths because of the relatively low percentage of elderly and vulnerable people who are fully vaccinated.

World

Pakistan launches ‘military operation’ against India

Published

8 hours ago

May 10, 2025

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Pakistan launches 'military operation' against India

Pakistan has launched attacks on “multiple targets” across India, according to the media wing of Pakistan’s military.

Pakistan said in a statement that retaliatory attacks are underway in response to what it called “continuous provocation” by India, which fired missiles at three air bases inside Pakistan.

“Multiple targets in this operation are being engaged all across India,” the statement from Pakistan Armed Forces (PAF) said.

Pakistan’s military said it used medium-range Fateh missiles to strike more than 25 military sites, including airbases and weapons depots in the Indian states of Gujarat, Punjab and Rajasthan, as well as locations in India-administered Kashmir.

Pakistan’s military posted footage on X showing missiles being fired from what appeared to be a mobile launcher.

The AP news agency also said loud explosions have been heard in India-administered Kashmir, in the disputed region’s two big cities of Srinagar and Jammu, and the garrison town of Udhampur.

Meanwhile, an Indian military source told Reuters that India has launched air operations in Pakistan, although no further details were given.

The operations mark the latest escalation in a conflict between the two nuclear-armed rivals, triggered by a deadly attack last month in India-administered Kashmir.

Most of the 26 civilians killed were Hindu Indian tourists. India blames Pakistan for backing the assault, an accusation Islamabad rejects.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has called a meeting of the National Command Authority, the body which takes security decisions, including those related to the country’s nuclear arsenal.

State-run Pakistan television said three air bases were struck by India on Friday, although Pakistan insisted most of the missiles had been intercepted.

Despite the military offensive, PAF also posted a message on X in what appeared to represent an opportunity to de-escalate the situation.

“Now that a response has been given we hope the neighbour [India] will move to dialogue and diplomacy like Civilized Nations,” it said.

In recent days, both countries have launched a series of missile and drone strikes, although the scale and impact have been consistently questioned by each other.

On Wednesday, India conducted airstrikes on several sites in Pakistani territory. Pakistan said it shot down five Indian fighter jets.

On Thursday, India claimed to have repelled drone and missile attacks at military targets in more than a dozen cities and towns, including Jammu in India-administered Kashmir. Meanwhile, India claimed it struck Pakistan’s air defence systems and radars close to the city of Lahore.

The Indian army said on Friday that Pakistan fired about 300 to 400 drones, targeting military installations along the western borders – a claim strongly denied by Pakistan.

The G7 group of advanced economies, which includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the US and Britain, urged maximum restraint from both India and Pakistan.

“We call for immediate de-escalation and encourage both countries to engage in direct dialogue towards a peaceful outcome,” a statement issued on Friday said.

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World

European leaders to meet in Ukraine for ‘coalition of the willing’ talks – and issue call to Russia

Published

8 hours ago

May 10, 2025

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European leaders to meet in Ukraine for 'coalition of the willing' talks - and issue call to Russia

Sir Keir Starmer will join other European leaders in Kyiv on Saturday for talks on the “coalition of the willing”.

The prime minister is attending the event alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, recently-elected German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

It will be the first time the leaders of the four countries will travel to Ukraine at the same time – on board a train to Kyiv – with their meeting hosted by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Follow latest updates on the Ukraine war

Military officers from around 30 countries have been involved in drawing up plans for the coalition, which would provide a peacekeeping force in the event of a ceasefire being agreed between Russia and Ukraine.

Ahead of the meeting on Saturday, Sir Keir, Mr Macron, Mr Tusk and Mr Merz released a joint statement voicing support for Ukraine and calling on Russia to agree to a 30-day ceasefire.

“We reiterate our backing for President Trump’s calls for a peace deal and call on Russia to stop obstructing efforts to secure an enduring peace,” they said.

“Alongside the US, we call on Russia to agree a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire to create the space for talks on a just and lasting peace.”

The leaders said they were “ready to support peace talks as soon as possible”.

But they warned that they would continue to “ratchet up pressure on Russia’s war machine” until Moscow agrees to a lasting ceasefire.

“We are clear the bloodshed must end, Russia must stop its illegal invasion, and Ukraine must be able to prosper as a safe, secure and sovereign nation within its internationally recognised borders for generations to come,” their statement added.

“We will continue to increase our support for Ukraine.”

The European leaders are set to visit the Maidan, a central square in Ukraine’s capital where flags represent those who died in the war.

They are also expected to host a virtual meeting for other leaders in the “coalition of the willing” to update them on progress towards a peacekeeping force.

This force “would help regenerate Ukraine’s armed forces after any peace deal and strengthen confidence in any future peace”, according to Number 10.

World

Ten explosions near international airport in India-administered part of Kashmir, officials say

Published

14 hours ago

May 9, 2025

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Ten explosions have been heard near Srinagar International Airport in India-administered parts of Kashmir, officials have told Reuters news agency.

The blasts followed blackouts caused by multiple projectiles, which were seen in the sky above the city of Jammu earlier on Friday.

Explosions were also heard in the Sikh holy city of Amritsar, in the neighbouring Punjab state, according to Reuters.

An Indian military official told the agency that “drones have been sighted” and “they are being engaged”.

It comes as tensions between India and Pakistan across the line of control around the region of Kashmir have boiled over this week, leading to fears of a wider conflict.

On Wednesday morning, India carried out missile strikes in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered parts of the disputed region.

The retaliation came weeks after 26 people, mainly Indian tourists, were shot dead by gunmen in an India-administered part of Kashmir last month.

The government in India said it hit nine “terrorist infrastructure” sites, while Pakistan said it was not involved in the April attack and the sites were not militant bases.

Around 48 people have been killed since Wednesday, according to casualty estimates on both sides – which have not been independently verified.

India also suspended its top cricket tournament, the Indian Premier League, as a result of rising tensions, while the Pakistan Super League moved the remainder of its season to the United Arab Emirates.

Meanwhile, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a conference on Friday that the US is in constant contact with both India and Pakistan.