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BEIJING, China (AFP) — Around a dozen countries have slapped fresh travel regulations on travellers from China, as the world’s most populous nation faces a surge in Covid cases following its decision to relax strict virus restrictions. Here is a run-down of the countries that have imposed mandatory Covid tests and other rules on arrivals from China: – United States – As of January 5, the United States will require negative Covid tests taken within […]
Beijing, China (AFP) Travellers from China now face restrictions when entering more than a dozen countries as concern grows over its surge in Covid-19 cases, with Australia the latest to demand a negative test before arrival. Last month, Beijing abruptly began dismantling its “zero-Covid” containment policy of lockdowns and mass testing, three years after the coronavirus first emerged in the city of Wuhan. As Covid overwhelms Chinese hospitals and crematoriums, officials have insisted that the wave is “under […]
France and Britain on Friday joined a growing list of nations imposing Covid tests on travelers from China, and the World Health Organization pressed Beijing to be more forthcoming on real-time data amid an explosion of cases there. Spain, South Korea and Israel also said they would require proof of a negative test for travelers leaving China. Despite its hospitals and morgues being overwhelmed — and international concern over the low official figures on infections […]
Indonesia on Friday removed all remaining domestic Covid-19 restrictions with immediate effect after case numbers in the Southeast Asian nation eased in recent months. The country became the epicentre of Asia’s outbreak in July last year as the Delta variant spread and overwhelmed the healthcare system. “No more crowd or movement restrictions,” President Joko Widodo told a press conference Friday, saying that key pandemic indicators for Indonesia were “below” World Health Organization standards. But he […]
Rome, Italy (AFP) Italy is making coronavirus tests for visitors from China mandatory following an explosion in cases in China, the health minister said Wednesday. “I have ordered mandatory Covid-19 antigenic swabs, and related virus sequencing, for all passengers coming from China and transiting through Italy,” minister Orazio Schillaci said. The measure was “essential to ensure the surveillance and identification of any variants of the virus in order to protect the Italian population”, he said. […]
Tianjin, China (AFP) by Matthew WALSH Doctors working despite being infected, beds filled with dozens of elderly straining to breathe — on the front lines of China’s worst-ever Covid outbreak, hospitals are struggling. Many Chinese were jubilant after Beijing announced the end of mandatory quarantines this week, effectively drawing the curtain on years of hardline virus controls that had isolated the world’s most populous country. But as China opens up, cases are surging. The […]
The United States is considering Covid entry restrictions for travelers from China, US officials said Tuesday, after Beijing dramatically loosened hardline containment measures this month. Infections have surged across China as key pillars of its containment policy have been dismantled, prompting US officials to express concern at the potential for new variants to be unleashed. That potential became even more real Monday when Beijing said it would scrap mandatory Covid quarantine for overseas arrivals from […]
Hong Kong, China (AFP) Hong Kong authorities on Wednesday asked Japan to remove restrictions on direct flights from the city, which were imposed following the explosion of coronavirus cases in mainland China. The city deployed similar curbs during its own fight against Covid, including rapid bans on airlines for carrying virus-positive passengers and travel restrictions for nations with major outbreaks. Japan became one of the first countries to impose China-specific travel restrictions this week […]
Beijing, China (AFP) Chinese President Xi Jinping urged officials on Monday to take steps to protect lives in his first public remarks on Covid-19 since Beijing dramatically loosened hardline containment measures this month. Having mostly cut itself off from the rest of the world during the pandemic, China is now experiencing the planet’s biggest surge in infections after abruptly lifting restrictions that torpedoed the economy. Studies have estimated that around one million people could die […]
Hong Kong, China (AFP) Hong Kong is aiming to reopen its border with China by mid-January, city leader John Lee announced on Saturday after returning from meetings in Beijing. The border has been effectively shut for nearly three years while China enforced a zero-Covid strategy of snap lockdowns, travel restrictions and mass testing that battered the world’s second-largest economy. After abruptly reversing on its pandemic policies last month, Beijing has been grappling with a […]
by Sebastien RICCI with Luna LIN and Holmes CHAN in Hong Kong Agence France-Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) — China has requisitioned medical supplies production across the country as millions struggle to obtain basic drugs and testing kits in the face of a surge in Covid-19 cases. Pharmacies in major cities have been stripped bare in the wake of the Chinese government’s sudden decision to lift years of lockdowns, quarantines and mass testing. Authorities have urged […]
by Laurie CHEN and Vivian LIN in Shanghai Agence France-Presse CHONGQING, China (AFP) — Elderly patients lined the wards of hospitals in major cities in China Thursday as the country battled a wave of Covid cases. The virus is surging across the vast Asian nation in an outbreak authorities say is impossible to track after the end of mandatory mass testing. And with cases soaring, Washington called on Beijing to share its Covid outbreak data, […]
