Chinese fret over elderly as WHO warns of holiday COVID surge - Reuters

BEIJING, Jan 12 (Reuters) - People successful China disquieted connected Thursday astir spreading COVID-19 to aged relatives arsenic they planned returns to their location towns for holidays that the World Health Organization warns could inflame a raging outbreak.

The Lunar New Year holiday, which officially starts connected Jan. 21, comes aft China past period abandoned a strict anti-virus authorities of wide lockdowns that prompted wide vexation and boiled implicit into historical protests.

That abrupt U-turn unleashed COVID connected a colonisation of 1.4 cardinal which lacks earthy immunity, having been shielded from the microorganism since it archetypal erupted successful precocious 2019, and includes galore aged who are not afloat vaccinated.

The outbreak spreading from China's mega-cities to agrarian areas with weaker aesculapian resources is overwhelming immoderate hospitals and crematoriums.

With scant authoritative information from China, the WHO connected Wednesday said it would beryllium challenging to negociate the microorganism implicit a vacation play considered the world's largest yearly migration of people.

Other warnings from apical Chinese wellness experts for radical to debar aged relatives during the holidays changeable to the most-read point connected China's Twitter-like Weibo connected Thursday.

"This is simply a precise pertinent suggestion, instrumentality to the location municipality ... oregon enactment the wellness of the aged first," wrote 1 user. Another idiosyncratic said they did not situation sojourn their grandma and would permission gifts for her connected the doorstep.

"This is astir the New Year and I'm acrophobic that she volition beryllium lonely," the idiosyncratic wrote.

More than 2 cardinal trips are expected crossed China implicit the broader Lunar New Year period, which started connected Jan. 7 and runs for 40 days, according to the transport ministry. That is treble past year's trips and 70% of those seen successful 2019 earlier the pandemic emerged successful the cardinal Chinese metropolis of Wuhan.

"I volition enactment astatine location and debar going to precise crowded places," said Chen, a 27-year-old documentary filmmaker successful Beijing who plans to sojourn her location municipality successful the eastbound state of Zhejiang.

Chen said she would disinfect her hands earlier gathering aged relatives, specified arsenic her grandmother, who has managed to debar infection.

LACK OF DATA CRITICISED

The WHO and overseas governments person criticised China for not being forthright astir the standard and severity of its outbreak, which has led respective countries to enforce restrictions connected Chinese travellers.

China has been reporting 5 oregon less deaths a time implicit the past month, numbers that are inconsistent with the agelong queues seen astatine ceremonial homes. The state did not study COVID deaths information connected Tuesday and Wednesday.

Liang Wannian, the caput of a COVID adept sheet nether the nationalist wellness authority, told reporters that deaths could lone beryllium accurately counted aft the pandemic was over.

Although planetary wellness experts person predicted astatine slightest a cardinal COVID-related deaths this year, China has reported conscionable implicit 5,000 since the pandemic began, a fraction of what different countries person reported arsenic they removed restrictions.

Looking beyond the decease toll, investors are betting that China's reopening volition reinvigorate a $17 trillion system suffering its lowest maturation successful astir fractional a century.

That has lifted Asian stocks to a seven-month peak, strengthened China's yuan currency against the U.S. dollar and bolstered planetary lipid prices connected hopes of caller request from the world's apical importer.

China's maturation is apt to rebound to 4.9% successful 2023, according to a Reuters canvass of economists released connected Thursday. GDP apt grew conscionable 2.8% successful 2022 arsenic lockdowns weighed connected enactment and confidence, according to the poll, braking sharply from 8.4% maturation successful 2021.

TRAVEL CHALLENGES

After 3 years of isolation from the extracurricular world, China connected Sunday dropped quarantine mandates for inbound visitors successful a determination expected to yet besides stimulate outbound travel.

But concerns astir China's outbreak has prompted much than a twelve countries to request antagonistic COVID trial results from radical arriving from China.

Among them, South Korea and Japan person besides constricted flights and necessitate tests connected arrival, with passengers showing up arsenic affirmative being sent to quarantine.

In a deepening spat betwixt the determination rivals, China has successful crook stopped issuing short-term visas and suspended transit visa exemptions for South Korean and Japanese nationals.

Despite Beijing's lifting of question curbs, outbound formation bookings from China were astatine lone 15% of pre-pandemic levels successful the week aft the state announced it would reopen its borders, question information steadfast ForwardKeys said connected Thursday.

Low hose capacity, precocious aerial fares, caller pre-flight COVID-19 investigating requirements by galore countries and a backlog of passport and visa applications airs challenges arsenic the manufacture looks to recovery, ForwardKeys Vice President Insights Olivier Ponti said successful a statement.

Hong Kong Airlines connected Thursday said it does not expect to instrumentality to capableness until mid-2024.

Reporting by Bernard Orr, Liz Lee, Eduardo Baptista and Jing Wang successful Beijing; Writing by John Geddie; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Nick Macfie

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.