Because Japan only wants to let people from China into the country via individual airports, thousands were stuck in the special administrative region.
(Photo: Reuters)
Brussels After the USA and other countries, the European Union also wants to ramp up protective measures against the wave of coronavirus infections in China. The EU Health Committee called an emergency meeting on Thursday to coordinate measures to contain the pandemic spreading in China.
In the People’s Republic, the virus spread explosively after the contact restrictions were lifted. Several countries have therefore already issued requirements for travelers from China. Results of the EU Health Committee meeting are expected later today.
>> Read here: 37 million infections a day in China – fear of new virus variants is increasing
France said on Thursday that border controls were not necessary because of developments in China. “From a scientific point of view, there is no reason for the reintroduction of border controls,” said the head of the committee for health risk assessment, Brigitte Autran, the broadcaster Radio Classique. However, this could change any day.
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A spokesman for the Ministry of Health in Berlin said on Wednesday that Germany was initially waiving entry restrictions. There is currently no indication that a more dangerous mutation has developed in China that would lead to this.
In Hong Kong, the international requirements have raised concerns about a passenger traffic jam. The government of the former British colony, which belongs to China, asked Japan to lift the planned restrictions because they affected around 60,000 air travelers. Japan had announced that from Friday it would only allow flights from Hong Kong and mainland China to land at the two airports in Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya.
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The United States announced on Thursday night that it would only allow air travelers from China to enter the country with a negative corona test. The United States followed India, Italy and Taiwan, which also require a negative test.
In contrast, the British government decided to waive any conditions for entry, according to a government spokesman. Australia and the Philippines have left open whether they will take action, but are monitoring developments very closely.
Hospitals and funeral homes under tremendous pressure
At the beginning of December, under pressure from anti-government protests and a flagging economy, China announced an abrupt departure from its strict zero-Covid policy. Since then, a corona wave has been rolling through the country.
According to employees, hospitals and funeral homes are under enormous pressure because of the rush. However, since there is hardly any testing anymore, this is not reflected in the official figures. Because of the sparse information, it also remains unclear whether new virus variants may have developed.
According to official information, Chinese authorities only registered one Covid death on Wednesday. Foreign experts assume much larger numbers. They expect that up to a million Chinese could die as a result of an infection in the coming year.
More: Opinion – China’s corona easing seems hasty and ill-prepared