(ANSA-AFP) - CANBERRA, JAN 01 - Australia joins the list of countries that will ask travelers from China to provide a negative Covid-19 test before arrival, citing a "lack of complete information" from Beijing on the surge of cases in the Asian country.
Australian Health Minister Mark Butler said the rule, which will come into force on January 5, was introduced "to safeguard Australia against the risk of potential new emerging variants" and "in recognition of the rapidly evolving situation in China".
Three years after the coronavirus first emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan, Beijing this month began to abandon its hardline containment policy known as 'zero-Covid'.
Since then, Chinese hospitals have been hit by a surge in mostly elderly patients, crematoriums have been overcrowded, and many pharmacies have run out of fever medication.
Although more than 97% of Australian adults have received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, there are concerns in Canberra that Chinese authorities are not adequately sharing details about the number of cases or the variants in circulation.
“This measure is in response to the significant surge in COVID-19 infections in China and the potential for emerging viral variants in that country,” Butler said.
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(ANSA-AFP).
