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Australia will drop the requirement for travelers arriving from China to test for Covid before departure from midnight tomorrow, says the country's health minister.
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The measures also apply to travelers from Hong Kong and Macau.
"This is a sensible, measured decision based on decreasing cases in China, regular data updates from China and the fact that we have strengthened our capacity to detect and respond to emerging variants within Australia of international origin, Mark Butler said.
Several other countries that implemented similar measures, such as the United States, South Korea and Japan, have recently either repealed their arrangements or announced an intention to repeal, he added.
China said it looks forward to more countries joining in, providing more convenience for the movement of Chinese and foreign people.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said China believes that for all countries, curbs need to be science-based and proportionate.
"We are looking forward to more countries working with China to do more to facilitate cross-border travel," Mao said.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention earlier said it plans to end today the mandatory tests for travelers from China imposed in early January.
Last week, Japan dropped a test requirement upon arrival from China. Korea will also cancel a departure test requirement this weekend.
The US in January joined other countries in taking new measures after Beijing's decision to lift its stringent zero-Covid policies. It required air passengers ages two years and older to get a negative test result two days before departure from China, Hong Kong or Macau.















