Travellers from China who test positive for Covid-19 in the UK will not have to quarantine, a cabinet minister said.
Covid cases continue to soar in China after Beijing softened its stringent ‘zero Covid’ measures including from January 8 its travel ban.
Joining a raft of nations including the US, India and Italy, air passengers landing in England from China will have to provide a negative test before they board.
Transport secretary Mark Harper said, however, that travellers who test positive after arrival won’t have to isolate.
Asked on Tuesday if travellers arriving in the UK from China who tested positive for Covid would be required to quarantine, Harper told LBC: ‘No, because what we are doing is we are collecting that information for surveillance purposes.
‘But, look, one in 45 people in the UK have got Covid at the moment.’
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) will also begin to track infection rates from January 8 by testing some travellers for the virus as they arrive.
All direct flights to the UK land in England, with travel being a devolved matter alongside health.
He added: ‘We manage Covid now by making sure we have got very high levels of vaccination, that is why people who are at risk, older members of the community, for example, should make sure they get their fourth booster shot this winter.
‘That is how we protect people from Covid, that is our primary line of defence.
‘The policy for arrivals from China is primarily about collecting information that the Chinese government are not sharing with the international community.’
Harper, among the backbench’s most vocal critics of Covid rules, said the government has provided a ‘sensible, balanced proposition’ to China.
He added: ‘This is about a country, China, which isn’t sharing the health data with the global health system that we expect everybody to do.
‘That is why we have put this temporary precautionary measure in place as China opens up its borders.
‘We are doing two things: we are requiring people who fly from China to have a pre-departure test so they have got to show that they are negative before they get on that flight, and when they get to the UK, the UK Health Security Agency will take a sample of passengers and test them.
‘That is so that we get that information into our health system and we can track the virus that is coming from China.
‘That, I think, is a very sensible, balanced proposition, which I think helps keep people in the UK safe but doesn’t put any restrictions on how people in the UK are able to operate.’
Questioned whether he would wear a face mask if he had Covid, Harper said: ‘First of all, you should stay at home if you think you have got Covid or you have got flu – actually the most sensible thing to do is to not go out and spread it.
‘If you do go out, clearly wearing a mask is very sensible if you are ill.
‘But we manage these illnesses now by vaccination. People should get vaccinated for Covid, they should also get a flu vaccination. We have seen very high levels of flu this winter’
Beijing’s austere travel ban had isolated the world’s most populous country for three years.
But the country’s policies – which included imposing mandatory prolonged lockdowns – all but crushed the economy and ignited public unrest.
The Communist Party chucked out some of the most severe ‘zero Covid’ measures following the wave of protests in November.
Joy and euphoria among those booking flights for long-dreamt family reunions and business trips were muddied by anxiety over what the lifted travel ban will mean for worldwide Covid cases.
Some world leaders are fearful that a surge in Covid infections in China could spawn new variants, fuelled by concerns over China’s lack of transparency about its outbreak.
The Chinese government is reporting about 5,000 cases per day, though analysts suggest this figure is likely far higher as testing is no longer mandatory.
They have accused Chinese officials of failing to provide detailed data on caseloads as well as tracking and sequencing variants.
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