Passengers walk out of Air China flight CA841 from Beijing at Vienna International Airport, Austria, on Aug. 8, 2020. (Xinhua/Guo Chen)

Chinese and foreign passengers entering China from the US via third countries and regions that require passengers to show negative test results for COVID-19 must take the tests in the US beforehand, and get certificates with a negative result within five days (120 hours) prior to boarding flights, according to a notification issued by the Chinese Embassy in the US on Friday. 

Chinese passengers should upload a picture of the certificate on Wechat and declare their health information to the Chinese Consular post that holds jurisdiction over their area of residence within 24 hours of obtaining the test result. 

After the approval from the consulate, they will get a green Health Code with the "HS" mark, without which they will not be allowed to board the plane.

Foreign passengers should submit their test certificate, passport information page and health declaration form to the consulate of jurisdiction and receive an approved declaration form returned from the consulate, which will be valid for five days after the test result comes out. 

There are 16 countries that require or will require passengers to take nucleic acid tests for COVID-19 for direct or transit flights into China, including Russia, Egypt and Pakistan.

Passengers who take transit flights in other countries do not need a test certificate before boarding. 

Chinese citizens who take direct commercial flights from the US are required to fill in a health declaration form 14 days prior to departure. 

Global Times