January 3, 2023

Australia has introduced COVID-19 testing for travellers from China despite the country’s top medical official advising against the move, a newly released letter shows.

In a letter sent to Health Minister Mark Butler on Saturday, Australia’s Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly said he did not believe there was a public health justification for introducing new travel requirements for arrivals from China.

Kelly said Australia’s high level of vaccination and prior infection, and the fact that the BF.7 Omicron subvariant that appeared to be driving cases in China was already circulating in the country, among other reasons, meant there was not “sufficient public health rationale” for new travel rules.

Read more:

https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2023/1/3/australias-covid-tests-for-china-overruled-health-advice