COVID-19: China's case surge an unfolding 'humanitarian disaster', NZ epidemiologist Michael Baker says

New Zealand is choosing - for now - not to follow the lead of countries tightening COVID-19 restrictions on travellers from China.

The US, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan and India have all imposed mandatory testing - with the United States saying it's done that because of a lack of transparency around the surge of cases 

China's true number of daily cases and deaths is not known since officials stopped releasing data and with Chinese borders opening again, there's a flood of people expected to travel from next month.

Leading New Zealand epidemiologist Michael Baker said China's COVID-19 surge is an unfolding humanitarian disaster.

But New Zealand's Ministry of Health has said international arrivals don't change the risk of COVID-19 here and the country's current public health measures are appropriate.

Effective one week from Thursday, people travelling from China to the US must test negative for COVID-19 within 48 hours of departure to be allowed through.

Some experts in the US fear that measure won't go far enough to prevent a COVID-19 wave.

Prof Baker said China now has millions of new cases every day after its government lifted "Zero COVID" restrictions.

"Unfortunately they're looking at having hundreds of thousands of people dying from this infection over the next three months, so I think it's a real humanitarian disaster there that's unfolding."

Chinese officials insist the situation remains "predictable and under control" but hospitals are overflowing, and Beijing's data and case tracking are limited. 

"If you go to Beijing they have so many good hospitals," said Alfred Wu from the University of Singapore. "But if you go to third-tier cities or rural areas it's very different," Dr Wu said.

But New Zealand is not following the US in its response and the same goes for Australia.

"What we'll do is we'll take health advice, not just when it comes to China but when it comes to every country," Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.

Prof Baker said there are benefits to having pre-departure tests in China but added New Zealand's response is a sensible one given the number of transmissions every day within our own borders.

"I think New Zealand's been very good at doing this - doing [a] good risk assessment, being very strategic and having a proportionate response at each point."

The Ministry of Health said it regularly monitors global trends in COVID-19 cases, hospitalisations, deaths and new variants - including in China - and can update New Zealand's public health advice in response to emerging evidence.

A new mutation could pose a threat but Prof Baker said there is no evidence to suggest variants in China are any different from the ones currently circulating.