LAX's arrivals area in the Tom Bradley International Terminal is now filling with the sounds of Mandarin, Cantonese, Hunanese and other languages as travelers from China seize the chance to enter the United States for the first time in nearly three years.
Under a new policy from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, all were required to produce a negative COVID-19 test before boarding their flights to the United States. But that's an imperfect means of protection, shown to miss anywhere from 30% to 70% of people who are in the early stages of an infection.
The sudden return of Chinese visitors may inadvertently throw a bit of fuel onto the dumpster fire of COVID-19 cases that continues to burn in the United States. But the CDC is also concerned about a more remote — and far scarier — possibility: that a traveler from China infected with a new coronavirus variant could enter the country and jump-start a fresh wave of transmission and illness.
