China Health Alert
December 28, 2022
Negative COVID-19 Test Requirement
Effective January 5 at 12:01 Eastern Time, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will require a negative COVID-19 test result, taken within two days of departure, or proof of recovery from the virus within the last 90 days, for all travelers, age two years and older, to the United States on flights originating from the People’s Republic of China (PRC), including the Special Administrative Regions (SAR) of Hong Kong and Macau.
This public health policy is due to the surge in COVID-19 cases in the PRC and the risk of the emergence of a new viral variant given the lack of adequate and transparent epidemiological and viral genomic sequence data being reported from the PRC. These data are critical to monitor the case surge effectively and decrease the chance for entry of a novel variant of concern. Monitor the websites for the U.S. Mission China, the U.S. Consulate General Hong Kong & Macau, and the CDC’s Travel Health Information page for the latest COVID 19- travel guidance.