COVID-19 China News: The Chinese government has sharply criticized the COVID-19 pandemic testing requirements on tourists arriving from China and threatened retaliation against countries involved, including the United States and several European countries.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said at a daily briefing on Tuesday (Jan 3), “We believe that the entry restrictions adopted by some countries targeting China lack scientific basis, and some excessive practices are even more are unacceptable.”
“We strongly oppose attempts to manipulate COVID measures for political purposes and will retaliate based on the principle of reciprocity,” she said. Mao did not specify what steps China might take.
China’s comments were the sharpest ever on the issue. Australia and Canada this week joined a growing list of countries that are requiring travelers from China to take a COVID-19 test before boarding their flight, as China battles a nationwide outbreak of the coronavirus. That happens after the sudden easing of restrictions in place for the pandemic. ,
Other countries, including the US, India, Japan, South Korea and several European countries, have announced stricter COVID-19 measures on travelers from China amid a lack of data on infections in China and fears that new variants may emerge.
China has the toughest entry requirements for people coming from abroad. It is supposed to end the mandatory five-day quarantine for all arrivals, but will still require a negative COVID-19 test within 48 hours of flight.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said there is “no reason for retaliation” by Beijing for “taking prudent health measures to protect its citizens” with COVID-related restrictions on travelers arriving from China. He said the restrictions were “based on public health and science”.
“It’s something that all of us (and) other countries are doing to make sure that we are protecting our citizens here,” Jean-Pierre said.
French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne defended the trials. From Wednesday, anyone flying from China to France must present a negative virus test taken within the last 48 hours and be subject to random testing on arrival.
“We are in our role, my government is in its role, protecting France,” Born said on France-Info radio on Tuesday.
Criteria for Chinese travelers to the UK:
From Thursday, passengers arriving from China will be required to undergo a Covid test before boarding a flight from Britain. Transport Secretary Mark Harper said the requirement is for “information gathering” because Beijing is not sharing coronavirus data.
He said health officials would test travelers’ samples upon arrival in the UK, but there was no quarantine requirement for those who tested positive.
“The policy on arrivals from China is primarily about gathering information that the Chinese government is not sharing with the international community,” Harper told LBC radio station on Tuesday.
Sweden’s Public Health Agency said on Tuesday that it had urged the government to ask travelers from China to present a recent negative COVID-19 test. The agency’s statement came as Sweden, which holds the EU’s rotating presidency, called a meeting of the EU’s crisis management mechanism on Wednesday to try to agree on a common European line.
The Swedish government is “preparing to be able to enforce travel restrictions. At the same time, we are in talks with our European partners to achieve as uniform rules as possible in the EU,” Justice Minister Gunnar Stromer said in a statement. Austria plans to test wastewater from planes, the Austrian press agency reported on Tuesday, following a similar announcement by Belgium a day earlier.
Chinese health officials said last week that they had submitted the data to GISAID, a global platform for sharing coronavirus data.
GISAID said on Monday that the versions of the virus that caused the infection in China “closely resembled” those seen in different parts of the world between July and December.
What do the researches say?
Dr. Gagandeep Kang, who studies the virus at the Christian Medical College of Vellore in India, said the information from China, although limited, appeared to show that “the pattern was in place” and there was no sign of a worrying variant emerging. ,
Mi Feng, a spokesman for China’s National Health Commission, said on Tuesday that authorities maintain an open and transparent attitude. He said he had two technical exchange meetings with the WHO last month on the overall situation, medical treatment, vaccination and other issues.
Mi Feng, a spokesman for China’s National Health Commission, said authorities have been open and transparent since the start of the epidemic three years ago. He said on Tuesday that China held technical exchange meetings with the WHO twice last month on the overall situation, medical treatment, vaccination and other issues.
A senior Hong Kong official also criticized steps taken by some other countries. Some have implemented requirements for travelers from Hong Kong and Macao, both semi-autonomous Chinese territories, as well as mainland China.
Hong Kong Chief Secretary Eric Chan said in a Facebook post that the government had written to various consulates on Monday to express their concerns over the “unnecessary and unfair” rules.
Some experts have questioned the effectiveness of the test. Kerry Bowman, assistant professor at the University of Toronto’s Tertiary Faculty of Medicine, said people can test positive long after entering the country.
The requirement “is not based on science at this point,” he said after Canada announced the measures last weekend.
China, which adopted a “zero-covid” strategy for most of the pandemic that imposed harsh restrictions aimed at stamping out the virus, abruptly eased those measures in December.
Chinese officials previously said that from January 8, foreign travelers would no longer need to quarantine upon arrival in China, paving the way for Chinese residents to travel.
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