China's Covid: The US mandates that travelers from China submit to Covid testing

 

Following Beijing's announcement that its borders will reopen the following week, the US has joined a growing list of nations requiring Covid testing of travelers from China.

 

While Australia and the UK stated that there were no new regulations for travelers from China, Italy, Japan, Taiwan, and India declared the requirement for testing.

 

China will begin allowing more citizens to travel freely on January 8 after being blocked to the outside world for three years.

 

However, the nation's constant Covid rise has higher thought.

 

Analysts believe that China's reported daily caseload of 5,000 cases is significantly understated and may perhaps be closer to a million. According to reports, hospitals are overburdened and citizens are having trouble getting access to essential medications.

The US said on Wednesday that it will start requiring Covid tests for visitors entering the nation from China, Hong Kong, and Macau as of 5 January due to a lack of "sufficient and transparent" Covid data in China.

In order to "help restrict the spread of the virus as we try to identify any potential new variations that may develop," according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

 

Coronavirus regulations should only be implemented on a "scientific" basis, according to Beijing's foreign ministry, which also said that Western nations and the media were "hyping up" the issue.

 

On the blocked social media sites in China, several users expressed anger.

 

"I believed that all of the foreign nations had become more open. Is this not racist?" read a Weibo remark that received 3,000 likes. Regardless of nationality, the US has stated that testing is necessary for everyone arriving from China or via a third country.

Others, though, indicated they were aware of the rationale behind the limits: "This is nothing compared to all the restrictions we have for individuals entering into China," one person said.

 

Beijing just made the decision to lift the arrivals quarantine announcement on Monday, essentially enabling domestic and international travel for the first time since March 2020. Anyone entering China had to undergo quarantine at state facilities until this week.

 

China has previously been the top market for international travel. But considering that there are few planes available and many individuals need to renew their passports, it's uncertain how many Chinese would go overseas after January 8.

The response of the international community has varied, with the UK and Australia stating that they were keeping an eye on the Covid issue in China but had no plans to announce additional testing criteria.

 

Others have announced limits quickly:

 

1. Beginning on Friday, visitors from China will have their Covid checked at the airport in Japan. The quarantine period may last up to seven days for those who test positive. There will also be fewer flights to and from China.
2. Travelers to India from China and four other Asian nations are required to present a negative Covid test before arrival. Additionally, positive travelers will be quarantined.
3. According to Taiwan, from January 1 to January 31, passengers arriving on aircraft from China as well as by boat at two islands would be required to do Covid tests. Those who test positive might stay home and isolate themselves.
4. Malaysia, meanwhile, has implemented new tracking and surveillance procedures.
5. Additionally, Italy has made Covid testing for travelers from China mandatory.

In response to China's Covid rise, the European Commission said that its health security committee will meet on Thursday to explore "potential steps for a coordinated EU strategy."

 

However, Italy, an EU member and the virus' epicenter in late 2019 and early 2020, declared that it was taking the initiative to "guarantee the surveillance and identification" of any new viral variations.

This week's flights landing in Milan were already screening Chinese passengers. Authorities discovered 52% of passengers on one aircraft that landed on December 26 had the Covid virus.

 

According to preliminary examinations of travelers arriving from China who tested positive for Covid, 15 of them had Omicron versions that were already prevalent in Italy, according to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. She said the news was really comforting.

 

Ms. Meloni is advocating for testing Chinese travelers across the entire EU, claiming that Italy's own procedures could otherwise be useless. Italy is one of the 26 European nations that make up the borderless Schengen zone.

 

The growth of China's pandemic situation is presently generally foreseeable and under control, according to China's foreign ministry, which made this statement on Wednesday.

This week's flights landing in Milan were already screening Chinese passengers. Authorities discovered 52% of passengers on one aircraft that landed on December 26 had the Covid virus.

 

According to preliminary examinations of travellers arriving from China who tested positive for Covid, 15 of them had Omicron versions that were already prevalent in Italy, according to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. She said the news was really comforting.

 

Ms. Meloni is advocating for testing Chinese travellers across the entire EU, claiming that Italy's own procedures could otherwise be useless. Italy is one of the 26 European nations that make up the borderless Schengen zone.

 

The growth of China's pandemic situation is presently generally foreseeable and under control, according to China's foreign ministry, which made this statement on Wednesday.

However, since officials no longer require instances to be recorded and have altered categories for Covid fatalities, it is unknown how many cases and deaths there are on a daily basis in China. Authorities said on Sunday that they would likewise stop publishing daily case counts.

 

According to Dr. Chandrakant Lahariya, an Indian epidemiologist and expert in health systems, "the infection rise in China is on predicted lines."

 

"Cases will increase if you have a vulnerable population that hasn't been exposed to the virus. The rest of the world has not altered at all."

 

China's contentious zero-Covid policy, which President Xi Jinping had personally backed, has come to an end with the country's decision to reopen its borders.

Beijing persisted on an anti-virus eradication strategy that included widespread testing and strict lockdowns even as the rest of the globe adjusted to live with the illness.

 

Due to the deteriorating economy and growing anger among the populace, there were sporadic demonstrations against Mr. Xi and his administration in November. Beijing started to relax the restrictions a week later.