ANKARA

Morocco will impose an entry ban on travelers from China beginning Jan. 3 because of rising coronavirus cases, the Foreign Ministry said Saturday.

"The Moroccan Authorities decided to prohibit access to the territory of the Kingdom of Morocco to all travelers, regardless of their nationality, coming from the People's Republic of China," it said in a statement.

The decision was taken to avoid a new wave of contaminations in the country, it said.

China recently announced it would begin to ease pandemic measures, the last biggest economy to opt for "living with COVID" following three years of lockdowns, closed borders and mandatory quarantine.

Since the decision, an unprecedented number of people in China have been infected daily.

The move came amid fresh announcements by the US, the UK, Japan, Italy and Spain that they will enforce new travel requirements for people from China, including negative COVID-19 test results.