Australia’s chief medical officer warned there was “not sufficient public well being justification” for the brand new journey guidelines.
Australia has launched COVID-19 checks for vacationers from China regardless of the nation’s prime medical official advising towards the transfer, a lately launched letter exhibits.
In a letter despatched to Well being Minister Mark Butler on Saturday, Australia’s chief medical officer, Paul Kelly, mentioned he didn’t imagine there was a public well being rationale for introducing new journey necessities for folks arriving from China.
Kelly mentioned Australia’s excessive stage of vaccination and former an infection, and the truth that the BF.7 Omicron subvariant that gave the impression to be producing circumstances in China was already circulating within the nation, amongst different causes, meant there was “not sufficient justification.” of public well being”. for the brand new journey guidelines.
There was a “sturdy consensus” amongst Australian and New Zealand state well being officers that restrictions on journey from China could be “inconsistent with the present nationwide strategy to managing COVID-19 and disproportionate to danger.” mentioned.
Kelly really useful that as a substitute of journey restrictions, the federal government contemplate increasing sewage testing, introducing voluntary sampling for worldwide arrivals, and enhancing monitoring of people that check optimistic for COVID-19 and have a latest historical past of international journey. .
Regardless of the recommendation, Butler introduced the following day that vacationers from China, together with Hong Kong and Macau, might want to submit a unfavourable COVID check inside 48 hours of journey.
Butler mentioned he made the choice “out of an abundance of warning, considering the dynamic and evolving state of affairs in China and the potential for brand spanking new variants to emerge in a high-transmission atmosphere.”
Butler mentioned on the time that he had been “reported extensively” by Kelly, however didn’t elaborate on the character of the recommendation he obtained. Butler has since defended the measures as “very modest” and a “balanced resolution.”
Kelly’s letter to Butler was posted on the Australian Division of Well being and Aged Care web site on Monday night.
Australia’s transfer adopted the introduction of comparable measures by the US, UK, South Korea, India, Japan, Taiwan, Italy, France and Spain.
Canada additionally introduced on Saturday that it could start testing arrivals from China from January 5.
Officers have flagged issues that rising circumstances in China following Beijing’s rollback of its robust “zero-COVID” coverage may result in the emergence of recent and extra harmful variants.
Some well being specialists have criticized the testing necessities, arguing that they may do little to cease the unfold of recent variants and danger stoking xenophobia.
China has criticized the testing guidelines as “pointless”, whereas Chinese language state media have criticized the measures as “unfounded” and “discriminatory”.
China is about to raise its obligatory quarantine for arrivals from January eight after three years of strict border controls, however will proceed to check all arrivals for COVID.