On Saturday, March 11, Australia dropped the requirement for travellers from China, Hong Kong, and Macau to test negative for COVID-19 before visiting. The US had done the same the day before.
“This is a sensible, measured decision based on decreasing COVID-19 case numbers in China, regular data updates from China on case numbers, and the fact that we have strengthened our capacity to detect and respond to emerging variants of concern within Australia of international origin,” said US Health Minister Mark Butler.
Since EU member states met last month to agree to phase out COVID-related entry regulations for travellers from China, Hong Kong and Macau, other countries around the world have also been relaxing restrictions.
France, Germany, and Malta also abolished PCR and rapid antigen testing for arrivals from China on February 11, 22, and 27 respectively. The French embassy in Beijing said: “Travellers from China to France are no longer required to fill a health declaration form. Random screenings on arrival are also abolished.”
