The U.S. Embassy in Beijing said it is reviewing reports that American travelers are being subjected to “invasive medical tests” upon arrival in China, regardless of their country of origin.
“We are looking into these reports,” the embassy told Bloomberg. “The U.S. Mission to China has no greater priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens in China.”
According to accounts received by the embassy, U.S. passport holders arriving at major Chinese airports have been separated from other travelers and directed to designated inspection areas, where local health officials conduct saliva swabs. In several cases, passengers said they were not informed of the nature of the testing, the destination of the collected samples, or the specific purpose of the procedures. Unlike in previous years, no consent forms were signed.
In 2023, travelers arriving at airports in Guangzhou, Hangzhou and Shanghai were asked to sign documents authorizing various health checks, including swabs for COVID-19, influenza and even smallpox. Those forms stated: “In order to protect the health of you and others, quarantine officials need to take samples for the related laboratory tests.”
It remains unclear whether the recent tests are linked to renewed disease surveillance protocols or another government initiative. As of Sunday, Chinese authorities had not commented publicly on the reports.
