The UK is expected to announce a requirement for travellers arriving from China to provide a negative pre-departure COVID test.
The move will align the UK with a number of other countries, such as the US, who announced a similar rule in recent days.
Sources say the move is precautionary and temporary, and due to a lack of confidence in China’s vaccine and data.
The defence secretary said earlier this week that the situation was “under review”.
There has been a surge in infections in China after it rowed back some of its notoriously tough coronavirus rules, such as regular PCR testing.
Officials estimated 250 million people are likely to have contracted the virus in the first 20 days of December, according to leaked notes.
China’s biggest city, Shanghai, last week had 5.43 million positive cases among its 25 million residents.
Spain becomes second European country to announce COVID restrictions for travellers from China
Is UK risking new COVID variants without action on Chinese travellers?
UK COVID response to China travel ‘under review’ after some countries step up restrictions
However, the true number may be significantly higher as asymptomatic cases are no longer recorded.
Spain, Italy, Japan, South Korea, the US and India are among the countries that have recently brought in new rules on arrivals from China.
On Friday, France’s transport minister said his country would bring in changes from 1 January.
Negative tests will be needed before flying from China, masks must be worn on the plane and tests will be carried out on arrival in France.
US: Starting on 5 January, the US will bring in mandatory COVID-19 tests on travellers from China. All plane passengers aged two and above will have to have a negative result no more than two days before leaving from the mainland, Hong Kong or Macau. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Americans should also reconsider travel to those places.
JAPAN: The country will require a negative COVID-19 test upon arrival for travellers from mainland China. Those who test positive will be required to quarantine for seven days. New border measures for China will come into effect at midnight on 30 December. The government will also limit requests from airlines to increase flights to China.
INDIA: From 1 January, people travelling to India from China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand must have a negative COVID before their departure and upload it on an Indian government website.
ITALY: The nation has ordered COVID-19 antigen swabs and virus sequencing for all travellers coming from China. Milan’s main airport, Malpensa, has started testing passengers arriving from Beijing and Shanghai.
TAIWAN: Beginning on 1 January, all passengers on direct flights from China, as well as by boat at two offshore islands, will have to take PCR tests upon arrival.
SOUTH KOREA: The nation will require travellers from China to provide a negative COVID test result before departure.
SPAIN: People travelling from China to Spain will be required to test negative for COVID or prove they have been fully vaccinated against the disease.
MALAYSIA: The country will screen body temperatures of all inbound travellers, including those from China, and those detected with fever or other symptoms will be tested for COVID. It will also sample wastewater from aircraft arriving from China for coronavirus and will conduct tests to detect the entry of any new variants.
France: Negative tests will be needed before flying from China from 1 January, masks must be worn on the plane and tests will also be carried out on arrival in France.
COUNTRIES MONITORING THE SITUATION
AUSTRALIA: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Australia was continuing to monitor the situation in respect of China “as we continue to monitor the impact of COVID here in Australia as well as around the world”.
PHILIPPINES: The country is being “very cautious” and could impose measures such as testing requirements on visitors from China, but not an outright ban, transportation secretary Jaime Bautista said.
The European Union’s health agency has said it believes the introduction of mandatory COVID screenings of travellers from China is “unjustified”.
UK health minister Will Quince previously said the “key threat” was the potential for new variants, but some experts believe travel restrictions are unlikely to be effective in such a scenario.
China has rejected criticism of its COVID data and said it expects future mutations to be potentially more transmissible but less severe.
The country’s own requirement for travellers to quarantine is ending on 8 January. It’s thought to be no longer effective given the high number of infections now present within the country.
China’s loosening of the rules follows a recent rare wave of protests that appeared to surprise its leaders.
There are fears the increase in cases could lead to many deaths because of the relatively low percentage of elderly and vulnerable people who are fully vaccinated.
