Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – The people of China’s state suddenly raided airline tickets to “escape” overseas. This happened following the easing of the Covid-19 protocol currently enforced by President Xi Jinping’s government.
There has been a significant increase in the purchase of airline tickets outside the Bamboo Curtain country, The Guardian reported on Friday (30/12/2022). This is evident from online airline ticket booking sites which have seen a sharp increase in visitors.
Searches for popular cross-border destinations jumped 10-fold within half an hour of news of Monday’s easing of quarantines, according to data from Chinese travel platform Ctrip. Macau, Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand and South Korea (ROK) are the top destinations.
Not just from China Trip, a Trip.com report also showed that overseas flight bookings increased 254% on Tuesday morning, compared to the previous day.
However, a number of countries have tightened the entry gates for citizens from China. This was done in response to the easing of Covid-19 and the increase in cases in China.
As was done by the Japanese government as of Friday (30/12/2022) yesterday, it has required all travelers from China to undergo a Covid-19 test upon arrival in the country. Those who test positive must be quarantined for up to seven days.
Japanese Prime Minister (PM), Fumio Kishida, said his country would make Covid testing mandatory for all visitors from China as a temporary emergency measure starting Friday. He also plans to limit airlines that increase flights to China.
“There is growing concern in Japan. We have decided to take special temporary measures to respond to the situation,” Kishida said at his press conference, the Guardians reported, quoted on Saturday (12/31/2022).
Not only Japan, United States (US) and Taiwan, India and Italy have also implemented the same thing. For the United States in particular, Washington believes that Beijing is not transparent enough in releasing data on the developments of the Covid-19 case in its territory.
Meanwhile, Taiwan has also said that people arriving from China must undergo a Covid test upon arrival from Jan. 1 to Jan. 31. Those who test positive will be able to self-isolate at home
India also applies the same requirement, where passengers from China must show a negative Covid test before arriving. Malaysia has also implemented additional tracking and surveillance measures for passengers from Xi Jinping’s country.
Not only in Asia, the United States (US) is also taking similar measures starting January 5 for travelers from China, Hong Kong and Macau. Washington also said that Beijing has not been transparent enough in releasing data related to the developments of the Covid-19 case in its territory.
“This is needed to help slow the spread of the virus as we work to identify potential new variants that may emerge,” wrote a statement from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), reported by BBC News.
But in response to several countries’ preventive measures, China’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday that currently the development of the epidemic situation in the country as a whole is predictable and under control.
The official diplomatic body also said that the rules related to the corona virus should only be applied on scientific grounds. “Western media and countries are exaggerating the situation (Covid China),” the ministry said.
From the audience, some residents reacted angrily on Chinese social media. Some say this is a form of discrimination and racism. “I think all foreign countries have opened up. Isn’t that racism?”
Earlier, Beijing announced it would end the quarantine for arrivals starting January 8. This effectively reopened travel in and out of the country for the first time since March 2020.
Currently, China reports about 5,000 cases a day. Even so, analysts say the number is grossly underreported, and the daily workload could be closer to a million.
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