battles a nationwide outbreak of the coronavirus after abruptly easing restrictions that were in place for much of the pandemic.Australian health authorities said Sunday that from Jan 5.
all air travelers from mainland China, Hong Kong or Macao will need to show a negative COVID-19 test taken within two days of their departure.Canadian authorities announced similar measures that will also come into effect Jan.
5 in a statement dated Saturday.RELATED: China estimates 250 million people caught COVID-19 since end of 'zero-COVID' policy: reportAustralia and Canada join other countries including the U.S., U.K., India, Japan and several European nations in imposing tougher COVID-19 measures on Chinese travelers amid concerns over a lack of data on infections in China and fears of the possibility that new variants may spread.China, which for most of the pandemic adopted a "zero-COVID" strategy that imposed harsh restrictions aimed at stamping out the virus, abruptly eased those measures in December.
Chinese authorities previously said that from Jan. 8, overseas travelers would no longer need to quarantine upon arriving in China, paving the way for Chinese residents to travel.Hong Kong is also preparing for quarantine-free travel to China, with plans to resume operations of more border checkpoints as early as Jan.