Wu rejects allegations by the World Health Organization that China is providing insufficient information on the number of infected people and deaths.
(Photo: imago images/photothek)
Berlin The Chinese ambassador in Berlin, Wu Ken, accuses the countries that, in view of the high number of corona cases in China, of having introduced compulsory testing for travelers from the People’s Republic, of discrimination. “Pointing the finger at others hasn’t solved a single problem,” Wu told Handelsblatt.
“Such a decision must be made on a scientific basis. It seems to me that there is also discrimination involved. We reject that.” Responding to the objection that China itself requires travelers to take a 48-hour test, Wu replied that these measures were not aimed at specific countries.
The number of infections in China has risen sharply since the zero-case strategy was abandoned in early December. It is estimated that around 36 million people in China have contracted the virus since the measures were eased. Hospitals in the country are overcrowded, and long lines have formed at crematoria, indicating high death tolls.
Wu emphasized that the situation was “overall predictable and manageable”. Wu rejected allegations by the World Health Organization (WHO) that China was providing insufficient information on the number of infected people and deaths.
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“Since the corona pandemic, we have exchanged views with the WHO more than 60 times, including four times since December 2022 alone,” he said. “We also sent genome data from the most recent cases to the Munich-based global science initiative GISAID.”
Germany tightens travel rules
From Monday, travelers from China must present at least one negative rapid antigen test that is no more than 48 hours old before departure for Germany. This should be controlled by the airlines.
Most recently, many visitors from China were noticed as infected when they arrived in other countries.
(Photo: dpa)
In addition, travelers should be able to be randomly tested after landing at the request of the authorities. Like other countries, Germany also wants to examine the waste water from aircraft from China for possible new corona virus variants.
More: Read all current developments in the corona pandemic in the news blog