Taiwan said all passengers arriving on direct flights from China, as well as by boat at two offshore islands, would have to take PCR tests upon arrival from January 1.

Malaysia announced new tracking and surveillance measures for those who test positive, while South Korea is requiring virus tests for visitors from China.

Britain was considering imposing COVID-19 restrictions for arrivals from China, including requiring tests, the London Telegraph reported. Officials from the Department for Transport, Home Office and the Department for Health and Social Care were expected to decide on Thursday (London time).

Lunar New Year, which begins January 22, is usually China’s busiest travel season, and officials announced on Tuesday they would resume issuing passports for tourism for the first time since the start of the pandemic in 2020.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Thursday Australia was making no change to its rules around allowing travellers from China into the country.

Loading

“We will take the appropriate advice from the health experts,” Albanese told the ABC.

“There is no change in the travel advice at this point in time but we are continuing to monitor the situation, as we continue to monitor the impact of COVID here in Australia as well as around the world.”

Italian authorities are also sequencing the Milan tests to see if there are new variants, the Health Ministry said. If a new strain is found, officials may impose stricter curbs on travel from the country.

“The measure is essential to ensure surveillance and detection of possible variants of the virus in order to protect the Italian population”, Health Minister Schillaci said.

Italy was the first European country to be hit hard by COVID in early 2020.

While the high rate of passengers with the virus has put authorities on alert, one factor in Italy’s favour is its high vaccination rate.

More than 80 per cent of people are fully inoculated, according to the World Health Organisation, and many have also received booster shots. It’s a similar story across much of Western Europe.

In Germany, health authorities were “closely watching” the situation, according to Health Ministry spokesman Sebastian Guelde.

“We have no indication that a more dangerous mutation has developed in China that would give rise to a declaration of a virus variant area, which would result in corresponding travel restrictions,” he added.

The French Health Ministry was also monitoring developments, and said it was “ready to look at all useful measures that could be put in place as a consequence, in collaboration with France’s European partners”.

Early in the pandemic, the US barred entry to foreigners travelling from China, weeks after the virus first emerged there three years ago. Americans were allowed to return home and flights from China were funnelled to selected airports where passengers were screened for illness.

But the virus already was spreading in the US among people with no travel history.

Reuters, Bloomberg

Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for the weekly What in the World newsletter here.