Random passengers on direct flights from mainland China into the UK are to be tested for COVID-19 in a new UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) surveillance programme which starts today.
Concern is growing that COVID is overwhelming the health system in China as the virus continues to spread through a large population which possesses little immunity thanks to the government's now scrapped Zero-COVID policy, which relied on isolation rather than inoculation.
There are also fears about how accurate the country's data is over the outbreak.
It is anticipated the currently low numbers of travellers from China will increase from today, as quarantine requirements on return to China are removed, so the new surveillance will begin.
Since 5 January, people travelling from mainland China have been asked to take a pre-departure COVID-19 test.
But the UKHSA said its new programme would also see "a sample of passengers arriving in England from mainland China tested for COVID-19 at the point of their arrival".
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