(Yicai Global) Jan. 17 -- China’s customs authority has begun checking that visitors entering the country by plane have a negative polymerase chain reaction test result for Covid-19 taken within 48 hours before departure.

From today, inbound passengers need to show airline staff a negative PCR test result taken within 48 hours to board and submit a health declaration with the test result, according to notices issued yesterday by Chinese embassies in the United States, South Korea, Japan, Canada, Singapore, Russia, Brazil, Iran, Poland, Iceland, and other countries.

Staff from the General Administration of Customs will conduct spot checks on arriving visitors, the embassies added.

China ended on-arrival PCR tests and centralized quarantine on Jan. 8, but inbound passengers still need to have negative results from PCR tests taken within 48 hours to board aircraft.

China wants to prevent cross-border virus transmission and facilitate cross-border mobility, Wu Xi, director-general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’s consular affairs department, said at a press conference on Jan. 13. People traveling between countries are at high risk of infection in confined spaces, he noted, adding that negative PCR test results are required to ensure safer journeys.

Customs staff will help those with Covid-19 symptoms or abnormal reports to take antigen tests, so that the infected can be treated early and not affect other people's travel, Xu said.

Editor: Futura Costaglione