As China resumes issuing passports for tourism in another vital step away from virus controls that have kept the country away for nearly 3 years, creating a potential flood of Chinese attending next month’s Lunar New Year holiday, the U. S. is facing a hurricane. The U. S. government announced on Wednesday a novel covid-19 testing needs for all travelers from China due to a spike in infections.
The cases in China come after the country’s strict antivirus controls were lifted. China’s “zero covid” policies had kept the country’s infection rate low, but fueled public frustration and crushed economic growth.
The new U. S. requirements, which begin Jan. 5, apply to travelers regardless of nationality and vaccination status.
In explaining the tests, the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the evidence was not available. U. S. officials cited the rise in infections and what they said was the lack of sufficiently good and transparent data from China, adding genomic sequencing of virus strains circulating in the country.
“This knowledge is critical to properly track the backlog of cases and reduce the chances of access to a new variant of concern,” the CDC said.
Some scientists worry that the COVID-19 outbreak in China could also release a new variant of coronavirus around the world that may or may not be similar to those circulating lately. In fact, infection is another possibility for the virus to mutate. .
“What we need is for a variant to enter the U. S. “It is in the U. S. and spreads as we’ve noticed with delta or omicron,” said Matthew Binnicker, director of clinical virology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
But CDC action would likely be less to prevent a new variant from crossing U. S. borders. More to increase pressure on China for more information, said Dr. David Dowdy, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. , adding that he hopes the restrictions “don’t stay in place any longer than they should. “
“I don’t think it has a primary effect on slowing the spread of covid-19,” Dowdy said. “We already have a lot of covid-19 transmission here within our borders. “
Dr. Stuart Campbell Ray, an infectious disease specialist at Johns Hopkins University, agreed that China is not sharing enough data on genomic sequencing. But he also said he EE. UU. es a little complacent about sequencing and wants to redouble his efforts. CDC also announced the expansion of an early precaution program that screens volunteers at selected airports for new and rare variants of the coronavirus. This program will expand the airports of Seattle and Los Angeles.
According to the new U. S. rules, people traveling to the U. S. U. S. citizens from China, Hong Kong and Macau will be required to write a COVID-19 check no later than two days in advance and provide a negative check before boarding their flight. The check applies to anyone 2 years of age and older, adding U. S. citizens.
It will apply to other persons traveling from China through a third country and to other persons connecting through the United States when en route to other destinations. Anyone who tests positive more than 10 days before the flight can provide documentation indicating that they have recovered from covid-19 from a negative screening result.
It will be responsible for verifying negative tests and recovery documentation before boarding passengers.
Other countries have taken steps in an effort to prevent their infections from spreading beyond China’s borders. Japan will require a negative covid-19 control upon arrival of travelers from China, and Malaysia has announced new tracking and surveillance measures. India, Italy, South Korea and Taiwan require virus verification for visitors from China.
The Lunar New Year, which begins on Jan. 22, is generally China’s busiest season, and China announced Tuesday that it will resume issuing passports for tourism for the first time since the pandemic began in 2020.
“We look to the future to welcome Chinese travelers back to the United States,” Geoff Freeman, president and CEO of the U. S. Travel Association, said in a statement. He called the U. S. technique for incoming travelers “reasonable and appreciated. “
The action of EE. UU. es a return to testing requirements for some foreigners. The Biden administration lifted the last of the terms in June. At the time, the CDC continued to advise other people who boarded flights to the U. S. to take care of the U. S. They were tested at a time before departure time and not if they were sick.
“We’ve done it before. We can do it again,” Dowdy said.
At the beginning of the pandemic, the U. S. The U. S. government banned foreigners from China from entering China weeks after the virus emerged three years ago, and dozens more countries were added to the list. to the U. S. U. S. to be vaccinated and tested.
BACK ON THE ROAD
For the past three years, China has largely closed its borders and kept its other inhabitants at home, moving away from the global commitment that underpinned its rise.
As the country now prepares to reopen its doors to help rescue a faltering economy, the world is excited about the prospect outlook for business and tourism but wary of exposure to a country facing an explosion of covid-19 cases.
As of Jan. 8, China will drop its strict quarantine requirements for passengers arriving from abroad and lift regulations that limited the number of flights and incoming passengers. Difficult for foreigners to download visas for business, examine and circle family gatherings.
Immediately, flight bookings soared as the Chinese headed to departures and planned a long-delayed circle of family reunions. Business teams and economists hailed the easing as a vital step in restoring confidence in China’s outlook. On a popular social media site, the French embassy in China wrote: “Chinese friends, France welcomes you with open arms!”
But optimism has been tempered by considerations about China’s handling of the explosive wave of infections since abandoning its “zero covid” strategy. Hospitals and funeral homes are battered and some medicines are in short supply. on covid infections and deaths, raising considerations about the scale of the outbreak and Beijing’s credibility.
Many would-be travelers to China have expressed fears of contracting covid in a country where medical facilities are already overloaded. Others questioned how welcoming China would be to foreigners after fomenting nationalism and even xenophobia over the pandemic.
Despite the lucrative prospect of Chinese tourists, some countries and cities are worried about the possible flood of arrivals. In Italy, the fitness minister said Wednesday that all travelers from China will be required to take covid antigen tests upon arrival so the virus can be sequenced if detected.
“The measure is imperative to ensure surveillance and detection of imaginable variants of the virus in order to protect the Italian population,” Minister Orazio Schillaci said.
Japan said it would restrict the number and destination of flights from China and require those who recently visited the country to be checked upon arrival and sent to quarantine for a week if they test positive.
The U. S. government The U. S. government on Wednesday announced a measure on travelers from China due to a lack of transparent knowledge about the existing outbreak.
However, the relaxation triggered a large pent-up demand. On Tuesday, a day after the adjustments were announced, flight bookings from mainland China to popular destinations such as Singapore, Japan and South Korea tripled at Trip. com Group, a Chinese reservations company. Flight bookings to the peninsula have increased fivefold, according to data provided by the company.
Some airlines have begun to resume and increase their flights to the mainland. Singapore Airlines said it would repair its Singapore-Beijing address for the first time since 2020 from Friday, with more to be added in the coming months.
The move comes as a relief to foreign corporations with operations in China. Many have complained that China’s restrictions make it harder for corporations to send workers and executives to their Chinese factories and offices.
Rachel Speth, owner of a company that sells bamboo-based cookware with offices in Shanghai and the United States, said that on her last trip to China in September, she and her spouse had to spend five weeks in quarantine after her spouse tested positive. by covid
What’s new is a dream come true, said Speth, who is based in Shanghai. “Now we can come and go freely. It’s a new day for schedules and the flow of paints. “
The easing gives corporations clarity that helps them plan for the future, said Eric Zheng, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, who welcomed Beijing’s decision. Porcelain. “
Many nostalgic Chinese hope to make a stopover at the Lunar New Year holiday, which is historically the world’s largest annual migration, when millions of Chinese travel for family gatherings.
Zhang Yuhan, a 26-year-old worker at a securities firm in Japan, said that after hearing the news of the reopening, she immediately started buying tickets while brushing her teeth and putting on makeup, looking for tickets before they sold out.
She said she bought a one-way ticket to Jilin province for the holiday to see her grandmother, who is recovering from an operation. It would be his first lap in 3 years.
“I’m so excited, I need to go back to China to see my friends at home and eat delicious food,” Zhang said.
Lifting quarantine rules does not end all obstacles to travel to China. The government has not said whether it will resume issuing tourist visas. In addition, many other people cannot buy the plane ticket.
Gwen Zhao, 28, a Chinese doctoral student in Japan, said she regretted not being able to be with her circle of relatives when her grandmother died last year. He hopes to make a stopover next year, but will have to wait for airfares to drop. Travel tickets used to charge him around $400, he said, but now they charge him about $2,800, seven times as much.
Data in this article was provided through Carla K. Johnson, Laura Ungar and other staff members at The Associated Press and through Chang Che, Claire Fu and Amy Chang Chien of The New York Times.