Australia will not require travellers from China to provide negative Covid test

Chief medical officer does not rule out future border restrictions but says community has high immunity to current variants

Australia will not immediately follow countries such as the United States, Italy and Japan which have moved to require travellers from China to produce a negative Covid test to enter.

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, on Thursday backed health advice that said Australia has built up immunity to the variant ravaging China, but he did not rule out travel restrictions in future.