Covid in China: US imposes Covid testing for visitors from China - BBC

The US has go the latest state to enforce Covid investigating connected visitors from China, aft Beijing announced it would reopen borders adjacent week.

Italy, Japan, Taiwan and India besides announced mandatory tests, but Australia and UK said determination were nary caller rules for travellers from China.

After 3 years of being closed to the world, China volition fto radical question much freely from 8 January.

But the country's ongoing Covid surge has sparked wariness.

China is reporting astir 5,000 cases a day, but analysts accidental specified numbers are vastly undercounted - and the regular lawsuit load whitethorn beryllium person to a million. Hospitals are overwhelmed and residents are struggling to find basal medicines, according to reports.

On Wednesday, the US said a deficiency of "adequate and transparent" Covid information successful China had contributed to the determination to necessitate Covid tests from 5 January for travellers entering the state from China, Hong Kong and Macau.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said this was needed "to assistance dilatory the dispersed of the microorganism arsenic we enactment to identify... immoderate imaginable caller variants that whitethorn emerge".

But Beijing's overseas ministry connected Wednesday had said coronavirus rules should lone beryllium instated connected a "scientific" ground and accused Western countries and media of "hyping up" the situation.

Some radical reacted angrily connected China's censored societal media.

"I thought each of the overseas countries had opened up. Isn't this racism?" work 1 remark that was liked 3,000 times connected Weibo. The US has said investigating is required of anyone coming from China, oregon via a 3rd country, careless of nationality.

But others said they understood the crushed for the conditions: "This is thing compared to each the restrictions we had for radical coming into China," 1 idiosyncratic wrote.

Beijing lone announced connected Monday its determination to extremity quarantine for arrivals - efficaciously reopening question successful and retired of the state for the archetypal clip since March 2020. Until this week, anyone entering China had to acquisition quarantine successful authorities facilities.

Before the pandemic, China had been the world's largest outbound tourism market. But it's unclear however galore Chinese radical volition question overseas aft 8 January fixed that the fig of flights are limited, and galore citizens request to renew their passports.

The planetary community's absorption has varied with the UK and Australia saying they were monitoring China's Covid concern but were not readying connected announcing caller investigating requirements.

Others person moved swiftly to denote restrictions:

The European Commission said its wellness information committee would convene connected Thursday to sermon "possible measures for a coordinated EU approach" to China's Covid surge.

But Italy, an EU subordinate authorities and an epicentre of the microorganism successful precocious 2019 and 2020, said it was moving archetypal to "ensure the surveillance and identification" of immoderate caller variants of the virus.

Flights arriving successful Milan this week were already investigating passengers from China. Authorities recovered 52% of passengers were infected with Covid connected 1 formation that landed connected 26 December.

Initial tests of Covid-positive travellers arriving from China showed that 15 of them had Omicron variants that were already contiguous successful Italy, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said. She described the quality arsenic rather reassuring.

Italy is 1 of 26 European countries successful the border-free Schengen portion and Ms Meloni is calling for EU-wide investigating of Chinese passengers, arguing that Italy's ain measures mightiness different beryllium ineffective.

China's overseas ministry said connected Wednesday that "currently the improvement of China's epidemic concern is wide predictable and nether control".

However, the existent toll of regular cases and deaths successful China is chartless arsenic officials person stopped requiring cases to beryllium reported, and changed classifications for Covid deaths. On Sunday, officials said they would besides halt releasing regular lawsuit counts.

"The corruption surge successful China is connected expected lines," Dr Chandrakant Lahariya, an Indian epidemiologist and wellness systems specializer told the BBC successful a caller interview.

"If you person a susceptible colonisation that is not exposed to the virus, cases volition rise. Nothing has changed for the remainder of the world."

China's determination to reopen its borders marks the extremity of the country's controversial zero-Covid policy, which President Xi Jinping had personally endorsed.

Even arsenic the remainder of the satellite transitioned to surviving with the virus, Beijing insisted connected an eradication argumentation involving wide investigating and stringent lockdowns.

The system took a deed and radical grew some exhausted and aggravated - successful November, the vexation spilled onto the streets successful uncommon protests against Mr Xi and his government. Week later, Beijing began to rotation backmost the restrictions.