China has denounced the decision to impose restrictions on Chinese travelers due to the high number of coronavirus cases on its soil, warning that it could take similar measures.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning told reporters that the restrictions against China have no scientific basis and are unreasonable.
International health officials have criticized Beijing for failing to publish data on the spread of the virus and possible new strains.
The United States and a dozen other countries have said they will require those arriving from China to provide negative test certificates.
Many Chinese are rushing to book their first overseas trips in years after Beijing lifted travel restrictions.
Chinese state media downplayed the severity of the COVID-19 surge ahead of an expected briefing on Tuesday by its scientists at the World Health Organization, which hopes to hold a “detailed discussion” on the evolution of the virus.
China’s sudden change in Covid controls on Dec. 7, as well as the accuracy of its data on cases and deaths, have come under increasing scrutiny at home and abroad.
“We are willing to improve communication with the world,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters in Beijing.
“But… we strongly oppose attempts to manipulate epidemic prevention and control measures for political purposes, and will take appropriate measures in different situations, in accordance with the principle of reciprocity,” he added.
China has shifted its stance from the “zero Covid” policy advocated by President Xi Jinping in the wake of the protests, the strongest public challenge of his decade in power.
As the virus spreads out of control, the number of funerals increases. Officials have reported an increase in demand for their services. International health experts predict at least 1 million deaths in China this year.
China reported three new coronavirus deaths on Monday, bringing the official death toll since the start of the pandemic to 5,253.
The Communist Party’s official people’s newspaper quoted Chinese experts as saying that the disease caused by the virus is relatively mild for most people.
He added, “Severe and critical cases make up 3 to 4 percent of the total number of injuries.”
Tong Zhaohui, deputy head of Beijing’s Chaoyang Hospital, told the newspaper that infected patients are now being admitted to designated hospitals in Beijing.
About 46 patients in intensive care units have been hospitalized in the past three weeks, or 1% of symptomatic infections, said Kang Yan, head of Sichuan University’s West China Tianfu Hospital.
Reuters quoted a witness as saying that the emergency area of Shanghai’s Zhongshan Hospital was crowded with patients on Tuesday.
Some patients lay in bed in a corridor receiving treatment, while dozens queued around them, waiting to see a doctor. It is unclear how many people have been infected with the Corona virus.
image copyright Reuters
WHO meeting
The World Health Organization has urged Chinese health officials to regularly share specific, real-time information about the outbreak.
The organization called on Chinese scientists to provide detailed viral sequence data at its Technical Advisory Group meeting on Tuesday.
He also asked China to share data on hospitalizations, deaths and vaccinations.
A WHO spokesman said ahead of the meeting scheduled for Tuesday afternoon Geneva time that a “detailed discussion” on the spread of the strains in China and around the world should begin, and that Chinese scientists should give a detailed presentation.
But some experts were skeptical that China would be so forthright about it.
“I don’t think China will be very honest in disclosing information,” said Alfred Wu, an assistant professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore.
He added, “They prefer to keep it to themselves or say nothing happened, nothing new. My feeling is that we can assume it’s nothing new … But the problem is the issue of transparency in China.”
The US, France and other countries will require COVID-19 tests on travelers arriving from China, while Belgium has said it will test sewage on planes carrying them for new strains.
European Union health officials are meeting on Wednesday for a coordinated response.
China will stop requiring incoming travelers to enter quarantine from Jan. 8, but will continue to conduct tests before departure.
As Chinese workers and shoppers sicken, worries about near-term economic growth prospects in the world’s second-largest economy are mounting, causing volatility in global financial markets.
A survey released on Tuesday showed Chinese factory activity contracted last month.
December shipments from Foxon’s Zhengzhou iPhone factory, which was disrupted by worker departures and unrest during the Covid outbreak, accounted for 90% of the company’s plans.
The head of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, said the severe spread of the infection in China in the coming months could hurt its economy this year and curb global growth.
Capital Economics analysts have warned that China is entering the most dangerous weeks of the epidemic.
They added that mobility data indicates that economic activity has slowed nationwide and is likely to remain so until infections subside.
The Ministry of Culture and Tourism said 52.71 million domestic trips during the New Year holiday brought in 26.52 billion yuan ($3.84 billion), up 4% year on year, but only about 35% compared to the year before the outbreak in 2019.
Expectations are rising around the Lunar New Year holiday later this month, when some experts predict infections will peak in many places.
