Beijing [China], January 3 (ANI): Beijing on Tuesday accused a few countries of imposing COVID-19 entry restrictions targetting China despite a dearth of scientific basis and such measures are being taken “for political purposes”. “Some of these measures are disproportionate and simply unacceptable. We firmly reject using COVID measures for political purposes and will take corresponding measures in response to varying situations based on the principle of reciprocity,” Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning said during a regular press conference on January 3.

Mao was quoted by the Chinese Foreign Ministry on its website. The Chinese spokesperson also stated the entry restriction measures some countries have taken against China are not “science-based.” Last week, Australia and Canada joined a long list of countries that imposed mandatory Covid testing for travellers from China amid a “rapidly developing situation” in the country.

Australian Health Minister Mark Butler said the nation has decided to follow the position of countries across Asia, North America and Europe to introduce measures amid the “absence of comprehensive information about the situation in China”, The Australian newspaper reported. “The broad consensus among all of the jurisdiction’s chief health officers is there is no immediate public health threat to Australians,” he was quoted as saying by The Australian newspaper.

The report added that mandatory pre-departure Covid testing for those travelling from China will begin on January 5. This development comes shortly after Canada became the latest country to join the list of countries that have made the Covid-19 test mandatory for flyers coming from mainland China due to a surge in coronavirus infections after the country rolled back its stringent “zero-Covid” policy.

The Canadian government announced that this new requirement will come into effect on January 5, at which point travellers aged two and older will need to provide proof of a negative test before leaving for Canada, Canadian-based Television Network CTV reported. On Friday, both France and the United Kingdom announced that passengers arriving from China will be required to present negative COVID-19 test results beginning the first week of January.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that starting from January 5, the United States would require international travellers coming from China to test negative for COVID-19 before entering the country. Italy, Spain, and several other countries have also introduced precautionary measures amid a surge in coronavirus cases in China, where harsh COVID-19 restrictions were eased at the start of December. Notably, India also made the RT-PCR test mandatory for passengers from five countries including China. (ANI)

There’s no cause for retaliation…, says White House related to curbs on flyers from China

Washington [US], January 4 (ANI): The White House said there’s no reason Beijing should retaliate against the US and other countries that have imposed Covid restrictions on travellers flying from China, saying that prudent measures have been taken on public health grounds amide surge in infections. While responding to a query about imposing restrictions on flyers from China, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, “I’ll say that there’s no cause for retaliation here just because countries around the world are taking prudent measures to protect their citizens that’s what you are seeing from us and others this decision is based on public health and science. This is coming from our experts here and other countries like Japan, India, the UK, and France are also taking similar public steps here.

This decision is based on public health and science,” she said. “This is coming from our experts and other countries.” “World Health Organization calling on China to release more data which is vital to the identity to identify any potential variants again there is no need for retaliation this is something that all of us in other countries are doing to make sure we are protecting our citizens here,” she added.
Earlier, the US announced that it will require all visitors from China to present a negative Covid-19 test result before boarding a flight to the country, CNN reported on Wednesday. Through a telehealth service, the testing can be either PCR tests or antigen self-tests.

COVID-19: China infection surge on agenda at WHO coronavirus meeting

Geneva [Switzerland], January 3 (ANI): Coronavirus experts met at World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday to discuss the next steps amid a reported surge in COVID-19 infections in China, UN News reported. A spokesperson for the WHO confirmed to journalists in Geneva that Chinese scientists had been invited to participate in a meeting of the Technical Advisory Group on COVID-19.

According to UN News, the 30-strong expert group was formed in June 2020 to advise the UN health agency and Member States on coronavirus mutations and variants. The group’s last meeting was in October.

In an earlier statement, WHO said that a high-level meeting took place on December 30 with China on the current surge in COVID-19 cases. “High-level officials from China’s National Health Commission and the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration briefed WHO on China’s evolving strategy and actions in the areas of epidemiology, monitoring of variants, vaccination, clinical care, communication and R&D,” the WHO said in a previous statement.

Last week, WHO again asked for regular sharing of specific and real-time data on the epidemiological situation — including more genetic sequencing data, data on disease impact including hospitalisations, intensive care unit (ICU) admissions and deaths — and data on vaccinations delivered and vaccination status.

The UN health body reiterated the importance of vaccination and boosters to protect against severe disease and death for people at higher risk. “WHO called on China to strengthen viral sequencing, clinical management and impact assessment, and expressed willingness to provide support on these areas, as well as on risk communications on vaccination to counter hesitancy. Chinese scientists are invited to engage more closely in WHO-led COVID-19 expert networks including the COVID-19 clinical management network,” the statement added.

The WHO had said it invited Chinese scientists to present detailed data on viral sequencing at a meeting of the Technical Advisory Group on SARS-CoV-2 Virus Evolution on 3 January. The UN body also stressed the importance of monitoring and timely data publication to help China and the global community formulate accurate risk assessments and inform effective responses. (ANI)