China on Tuesday condemned the imposition of covid tests in several countries of the world on travelers from that country, facing an unprecedented surge in cases.
“Some countries have put in place entry restrictions targeting only Chinese travellers. This has no scientific basis and some practices are unacceptable,” said Mao Ning, spokesman for the foreign ministry.
China could”take countermeasures, according to the principle of reciprocity,” he warned.
A panel of European Union health experts has ruled in favor of systematically testing travelers from China for covid before they leave for Europe, according to a European Commission spokesperson.
The experts also examined other Commission proposals, such as the mandatory chin strap on flights from China, the control of the water used on planes and a strengthening of tests, with sequencing of covid-19 positives, to identify possible new variants.
“These measures should target the most appropriate flights and airports and be applied in a coordinated manner (across the EU) to ensure their effectiveness,” a spokesperson said.
A meeting is scheduled for Wednesday to work out a coordinated lockdown response to the explosion of infections in China.
avalanche of infections
China unexpectedly lifted health restrictions on Dec. 7, a decision that has resulted in an avalanche of patients in hospitals and covid victims in crematoria.
From Sunday, China will no longer impose quarantine on people arriving from overseas, but will continue to prompt travelers for a negative PCR test. He hasn’t issued tourist visas for nearly three years.
A dozen countries have imposed covid tests on passengers from China in recent days, concerned about the lack of transparency on data on infections and fearing the appearance of new variants.
In Shanghai, two-thirds of residents may have had covid in recent weeks, a senior official at one of the city’s main hospitals said on Tuesday.
“Currently, the outbreak in Shanghai is very large and may have affected 70 percent of the population, which is 20 to 30 times more” than the previous outbreak in early 2022, said Chen Erzhen, vice president of Shanghai Hospital. Ruijin, to a blog published by the People’s Daily.
The city of 25 million, China’s economic capital, has been under a strict lockdown for two months since April. Many inhabitants have been transferred to quarantine centres.
Now the omicron variant is spreading very quickly.
In other major Chinese cities such as Beijing, Tianjin (north), Chongqing (southwest) and Guangzhou (south), health authorities believe the peak has passed.
Dr Chen, who is also a member of the Shanghai Council of Experts on Covid, said his hospital receives 1,600 emergency admissions a day – double the number before restrictions were lifted – of which the 80% are covid patients.
“More than 100 ambulances arrive at the hospital every day,” he explains, and half of the patients in the emergency room are over 65 and, therefore, more vulnerable.
At Tongren Hospital in Shanghai, patients undergoing emergency care were seen outside the building, overwhelmed by the influx of patients.
The corridors were lined with elderly people reclining on IV beds. Some wore oxygen masks.
The surge in covid cases in big cities is expected to soon spread to rural China, where millions are expected to return to their home provinces to celebrate the Lunar New Year which starts on Jan. 21.
In these areas the health services are in worse condition than in the cities.
Jiao Yahui, a National Health Commission (NHC) official, acknowledged in an interview on state television CCTV on Monday that the planned outbreak in the countryside posed a “major challenge”.
Source: AFP
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Source: Clarin
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.