U.S. officials are set to relax coronavirus testing requirements on travelers from China as soon as Friday, a decision that comes amid declining covid cases in that country, according to three officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The White House declined to comment on the plan, which the officials said was being finalized on Tuesday. National security and health officials reached a decision to roll back the testing requirements this week, and were expected to begin notifying U.S. airlines, Chinese diplomats and others before announcing the change.
The three officials characterized the decision as driven by public health, rather than foreign policy, priorities. Other countries,Advertisementwhen entering this country went into effect Jan. 5, after China lifted its strict zero-covid policies, and infections and deaths soared there. U.S. officials at the time said they were concerned that the wave of cases sweeping China could spark new variants that might threaten people around the world.
“We’re seeing an unprecedented outbreak in China and obviously a lot of concern for the people of China … the issue that concerns us on top of that is a lack of transparency,” White House coronavirus coordinator Ashish Jha told NPR as the
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