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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Paul Karp

Australian health minister suggests pre-flight China tests designed to make Beijing share more data on Covid outbreak

Travellers walk with their luggage at Beijing Capital International Airport
Australia’s health minister Mark Butler says the requirement for travellers from China to have a negative Covid test is a ‘modest’ measure. Photograph: Tingshu Wang/Reuters

Australia’s health minister says he wants pre-flight Covid testing for travellers from China to be “temporary”, suggesting the requirement could be lifted if Beijing shares more information about its outbreak.

Mark Butler suggested on Thursday – the first day of the new testing regime – that the measure was put in place as part of an international push for China to provide real-time data on the genomic sequencing of Covid cases.

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