China calls for science-based anti-coronavirus measures for travelers

They support the measures they take to prevent it coronavirus and are taken on the basis of science, its Foreign Ministry called on Tuesday (10/1). China the countries involved.

COVID-19 prevention measures should not be discriminatory and should not affect the normal movement of people between two countries, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a press briefing.

China’s embassy in South Korea had announced earlier today that suspended the issuance of short-term entry visas for visitors from South Koreain response to Seoul’s health restrictions on Chinese travelers, which China deemed “discriminatory,”

Japan’s Kyodo news agency then reported, citing multiple travel industry imgs, that China had told travel agencies it was stopping issuing new visas to Japan for travel to China.

The move follows Japan’s tightening of regulations for travelers from China, requiring all those arriving directly from that country to have a negative PCR test for the novel coronavirus 72 hours before their departure. , as well as a negative test upon their arrival in Japan.

China reopened its borders on Sunday (8/1), lifting the last major containment measure as part of its “zero COVID” policy. which it began to abruptly lift in early December following protests of historic proportions against the restrictions.

Frequent lockdowns, incessant testing and various other restrictions on movement since early 2020 have sent the world’s second-largest economy to one of its slowest growth rates in nearly half a century and caused widespread concern.

China has stopped publishing data on coronavirus cases

After the lifting of the measures, China stopped publishing data on the cases detected in a 24-hour period.. It is also reporting five or fewer deaths a day after the 90-degree U-turn in its policy to contain the pandemic, a number disputed by the World Health Organization and inconsistent with reports from funeral homes that point to an increase in demand for the their services.

The US, South Korea, France and other countries introduced testing requirements in response to the COVID-19 outbreak in China.

Some governments have raised concerns about Beijing’s transparency about the scale and impact of the outbreak, with international experts predicting at least 1 million deaths in China this year. Washington also expressed concerns about possible future mutations of the virus.

Although Beijing also requires negative test results for COVID-19 from anyone arriving in China, officials last week threatened retaliation against countries that require tests for travelers from China.