China to scrap COVID nucleic acid test for int’l pax

China said Tuesday that airlines will no longer check COVID test reports of inbound passengers taken before boarding starting from Saturday, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

To help facilitate personnel exchanges between China and foreign countries, China will further optimize the arrangements for remote COVID-19 testing in a scientific, precise, safe, and orderly manner, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a press conference in Beijing.

From Saturday, all inbound travelers can show COVID-19 antigen tests results taken within 48 hours before boarding flights instead of nucleic acid test results, Mao explained. “We remind both inbound and outbound travelers to do self-health management and monitoring well before traveling, strictly comply with China’s national and local requirements on epidemic prevention, and ensure a healthy and pleasant trip and a safe return home,” she said.

Since China announced the downgrading of the management of COVID-19 from Class A to Class B from Jan. 8, quarantine requirements were removed for people entering the country. Inbound travelers were still required to present negative nucleic acid test results acquired within 48 hours before departure, according to the state-run Global Times.

Source: Kuwait News Agency