Australia drops COVID testing for China arrivals

Australia has followed the US in removing its controversial requirement for arrivals from China to take a pre-departure COVID test. The federal government said the rules would be abolished from 12.01am on 11 March 2023 and followed no new variants of concern being discovered. It will apply to both mainland China as well as the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau. China fully opened its border by axing quarantine on 8 January, and the testing changes came into effect on 5 January. “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 Health Minister Mark Butler on Thursday. The announcement significantly came just hours after the US made the same decision and followed similar moves by Korea, Japan, France and Italy. The move will be seen as a boon for the aviation industry, which has been relying on Chinese carriers increasing capacity into Australia to repair the slower-than-hoped-for international recovery.<br/>