China Covid: will passengers who test positive need to quarantine upon arrival in the UK?

Travellers who test positive for Covid after arriving in the UK from China will not be forced to quarantine, the transport secretary has said.

Arrivals can partake in optional testing at Heathrow - the only airport in the UK with direct flights from China - but will not have to self-isolate if the result comes back positive. This, according to Transport Secretary Mark Harper, is because tests will be used for the purpose of “collecting information” due to Beijing refusing to share its own coronavirus data.

Passengers will however be required to present a negative Covid test before their flight’s departure from China to England, under new measures announced by Health Secretary Steve Barclay. Also, from 8 January, the UK Health Security Agency will initiate surveillance in which a sample of arrivals from China will be tested to try spot new variants of the virus which could pose a threat.

Harper said he thought this was a “sensible” and “balanced” approach that “helps keep people in the UK safe but doesn’t put any restrictions on how people in the UK are able to operate”.

He also explained that the reason those who test positive will not be required to quarantine is because testing is “primarily about collecting information that the Chinese government is not sharing with the international community” so that the UK “gets that information into our health system and can track the virus that is coming from China.”

In a possible attempt to reassure the public, the Tory MP added that there are “very high levels of vaccination” in the UK, and encouraged older, more vulnerable people to “get their fourth booster shot this winter”.

The move comes as Beijing prepares to start reissuing passports and visas for overseas trips after lifting its strict zero-Covid policy measures — a decision that has led to a huge surge in infections. It has also prompted countries such as the United States, India, Italy, France, Spain, South Korea, and Taiwan (as well as the UK) to make it a requirement for travellers from China to be tested for the virus.

Beijing has condemned this response and threatened counter-measures against countries involved. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said: “We believe that the entry restrictions adopted by some countries targeting China lack scientific basis and some excessive practices are even more unacceptable. We are firmly opposed to attempts to manipulate the Covid measures for political purposes and will take counter-measures based on the principle of reciprocity.”

The travel restrictions from China only apply in England as there are no direct flights from China to Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. However, ministers said they are working with the devolved administrations to implement the measures across the UK.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) also assured those worried about the spread of Covid that passengers “will not be allowed to board a flight” to the UK from China if they do not have “evidence of a negative test result”. However, in a separate statement, a spokeswoman also confirmed that tests upon arrival in England were “optional”.

She explained: “We encourage people at the border to take a test to help themselves, their families and wider knowledge on Covid. However, the testing is optional and people can decline if they wish to do so.”

How have other countries responded?

Countries which, like the UK, will all require a negative pre-departure test from those arriving on flights from China include:

• Italy
• Spain
• France
• Canada
• Australia
• Qatar

Elsewhere, Morocco will impose a ban on people arriving from China of all nationalities from 3 January, and Malaysia will screen all inbound travellers for fever and test wastewater from aircraft arriving from China.

Japan and South Korea are requiring negative Covid tests upon arrival - with those testing positive having to undergo a week in quarantine. Japan also plans to limit airlines increasing flights to China, while South Korea is placing restrictions on short-term visas for Chinese nationals.

India has mandated a negative Covid test for travellers arriving from China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand, with passengers from those countries required to quarantine if they show symptoms or test positive.