Few days before China removes border restrictions and ushers in an eagerly anticipated return to travel for a populace that has been mainly confined to its home for three years, more nations around the world are requiring travellers from China to do Covid tests.
As of this coming Sunday, China will no longer compel incoming travelers to undergo quarantine. This is the most recent renunciation of its “zero-Covid” rule, which was put in place last month in response to protracted protests against oppressive mass lockdowns.
However, the sudden shifts have made many of China’s 1.4 billion people vulnerable to the virus for the first time, sparking an infection wave that is overrunning certain hospitals, depleting the shelves of pharmacies of medication, and raising anxiety across the globe.
More than a dozen nations, including Greece, Germany, and Sweden, demanded Covid testing from Chinese travellers on Thursday after the World Health Organization claimed that China’s official viral data was understating the full scope of its outbreak.
Chinese officials and state media have adopted a confrontational stance, defending the outbreak’s management, downplaying the seriousness of the spike, and criticizing restrictions on people’s travel outside.
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“No matter how China decides to deal with the Covid-19 epidemic, some Western media and some Western politicians will never be satisfied,” an editorial published in Chinese newspaper wrote.
The move to require testing of visitors from China has drawn criticism from the international aviation sector, which has been harmed by years of pandemic restrictions. After January 8, China will continue to demand pre-departure testing for visitors.
Some Chinese people believe the reopening was rushed.
Five further Covid fatalities were recorded in China’s mainland on Thursday, raising the country’s official virus death toll, which is among the lowest in the world at 5,264.
