Australia, Canada restricts Chinese Covid travelers

• Over a dozen countries and territories limit Chinese travelers.
• All tourists from China, Hong Kong, and Macao must have negative test results.
• WHO called Beijing’s precautions “understandable” and urged further information.

Due to an increase in COVID-19 instances, more than a dozen nations and territories have placed restrictions on travelers from China.

Australia and Canada now require negative test results for all travelers from mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macao.

On Sunday, the most recent restrictions were made public as COVID-19 inundated hospitals and cemeteries throughout China.

The COVID-19 virus is likely infecting millions of people every day, according to specialists in global health, who believe Beijing’s “zero-COVID” policy of rigorous lockdowns and widespread testing was abandoned last month. Additionally, the National Health Commission has stopped releasing daily data on infections and fatalities.

The trip restriction, which will go into effect on January 5, was justified by Beijing’s “lack of detailed information” about COVID-19 instances, according to Australian Health Minister Mark Butler on Sunday.

According to him, the action will “protect Australia from the risk of potential new developing varieties.”

In addition, the Canadian government’s desire for a negative test was supported by “the scant epidemiological and viral genomic sequence data available” on recent COVID-19 cases in China.

“These planned health measures will apply to air travelers, regardless of nationality and vaccination status,” the government said in a news release. “They are temporary measures, in place for 30 days, that will be reassessed as more data and evidence becomes available.”

The United States, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and these countries have recently enforced either a negative result requirement or a test upon arrival for travelers from China.

While the Philippines said it will increase surveillance of all respiratory problems in passengers arriving from China, Malaysia said it will check all inbound travelers, including those from China, for fever.

In order to prevent “a new wave of contaminations” and “all its ramifications,” Morocco went one step further and announced on Saturday a ban on all arrivals from China.

In view of the knowledge gap, the World Health Organization has deemed the precautionary steps “understandable” and encouraged Beijing to release more information on genetic sequencing as well as statistics on hospitalizations, fatalities, and immunizations.

But the European branch of the International Airports Council – which represents more than 500 airports in 55 European countries – said the restrictions were not justified or risk-based.

European countries will meet next week to discuss a joint response to the issue, with incoming EU presidency holder Sweden saying it was “seeking a common policy for the entire EU when it comes to the introduction of possible entry restrictions”.

In response to the outbreak, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said on Sunday that she is “willing to provide necessary assistance based on humanitarian concerns”, but did not specify what kind of aid might be extended to Beijing, which considers the self-ruled island a breakaway province.

Chinese President Xi Jinping struck an upbeat tone in his live New Year’s speech.

“Epidemic prevention and control is entering a new phase … Everyone is working resolutely, and the light of hope is right in front of us,” Xi said in a speech broadcast on state media on Saturday.

It was Xi’s second time commenting on the outbreak this week.

On Monday, he called for measures to “effectively protect people’s lives”.

The UK-based health data company Airfinity stated on Thursday that according to its models, China experiences 11,000 daily fatalities from COVID-19 and 1.8 million daily infections.

In addition to case growth rates from other COVID-zero countries and territories when they loosened limitations, such as Japan and Hong Kong, it claimed that its model was based on data from Chinese provinces before the suspension of the disclosure of official information.

In China, COVID-19 infections are predicted to peak twice in the upcoming months, with the first peak occurring on January 13 with 3.7 million cases each day. The company predicts a high of roughly 25,000 deaths per day on January 23.

On March 3, there will be a second high, with daily instances possibly reaching 4.2 million, according to Airfinity.

Rural regions would be more affected by this later wave, it was added.

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