COVID-19 testing requirements for passengers traveling from China highlight mounting concerns about the potential for undetected new strains of the virus spawned by the country’s burgeoning outbreak.
When the U.S. imposed requirements for travelers from China to show negative test results, it also expanded a program that collects voluntary samples from international passengers at airports to help monitor variants entering the country. On Saturday, Canada said travelers from China, Hong Kong and Macau will need to produce a negative COVID-19 test, while Morocco went even further with a ban on visitors from China.
The latest restrictions come after the U.K. and France on Friday joined the rush of countries testing passengers and sequencing samples from people arriving from China in an effort to identify any dangerous new mutations that could spread rapidly through their populations.
