The US government may impose new COVID-19 measures on travelers arriving in the country from China amid concerns about a “lack of transparent data” coming from Beijing, US officials said Tuesday.
The move comes after Japan, India and Malaysia announced tougher rules for travelers from China in the past 24 hours, citing rising infections there.
Japan has said it would require a negative COVID-19 test on arrival for travelers from China. Malaysia implemented additional monitoring and surveillance measures.
“There is growing concern in the international community about increases in COVID-19 (cases) in China and the lack of transparent data, including viral genomic sequence data, being reported from the PRC,” the officials said, using The initials of the People’s Republic of China.
Some hospitals and funeral homes in China have been overwhelmed as the virus spreads largely unchecked across the country of 1.4 billion people.
However, official statistics showed just one death from COVID in the seven days to Monday, raising questions among health experts and residents about the government data. The numbers are inconsistent with the experience of much less populous countries after they reopened.
China said on Monday it would stop requiring incoming travelers to go into quarantine from January 8, in a major step toward easing restrictions at its borders, which have been largely closed since 2020.