Rule requiring negative COVID test before Chinese flights takes effect in Canada

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VANCOUVER — Airline passengers leaving China, Hong Kong and Macau will have to provide evidence of a negative COVID-19 test when they enter Canada starting today.

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The Canadian government announced last week that the travellers would need a negative test administered within 48 hours of their departure as cases soar in China.

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A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson criticized the change in requirements this week, saying some countries were attempting to manipulate COVID measures for political purposes and it would take countermeasures.

World Health Organization officials expressed concern Wednesday about a new omicron subvariant of the coronavirus – its most transmissible yet – while also urging China to be more forthcoming with its data on infections and deaths amid a recent surge there.

The XBB.1.5 subvariant, which has been circulating since at least October and is known to have spread to 29 countries, including Canada, is the most transmissible version of the omicron variant detected by health officials so far, said Maria Van Kerkhove, the technical leader for the organization’s covid response. However, she added that there was no indication yet that XBB.1.5 caused more severe illness than omicron’s other subvariants.

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Declining global surveillance of the coronavirus, incomplete data from China and an increase in covid-19 deaths worldwide are concerning, she said at a news conference. “It is not just a matter of knowing what variants are circulating. We need the global community to assess these, to look at mutation by mutation to determine if any of these are new variants that are circulating.”

Penny Tao, who arrived in Vancouver on a flight from Hong Kong Wednesday, says she moved up her flight to avoid testing ahead of a busy Chinese New Year schedule later this month.

Jiayuan Jin, a University of B.C. student, will be among the first arrivals under the new testing rules when her flight lands on Saturday, and says she supports the new strategy, especially because testing booths are numerous in China and results are available within 10 hours.

With additional reporting by Reuters, The Washington Post