骋濒辞产补濒听health officials tried to determine the facts of听颁丑颈苍补‘s raging听颁翱痴滨顿-19 outbreak and how to prevent a further听蝉辫谤别补诲听as the government’s mouthpiece newspaper on Wednesday rallied citizens for a “final victory”听辞惫别谤听the virus.
China‘s axing of its stringent anti-virus controls last month has unleashed听颁翱痴滨顿聽on a 1.4 billion population that has little natural immunity having been shielded from the virus since it emerged in its Wuhan city three years ago.
Funeral homes have reported a spike in demand for their services and international health experts predict at least one million deaths in听颁丑颈苍补聽this year.
But officially,听颁丑颈苍补聽has reported a small number of听颁翱痴滨顿聽deaths since the policy U-turn and has played down听肠辞苍肠别谤苍s about a disease that it was previously at pains to eradicate through mass lockdowns even as the rest of the world opened up.
“颁丑颈苍补听and the Chinese people will surely win the final victory against the epidemic,” Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece the People’s Daily said in an editorial, rebutting criticism of its tough anti-virus regime that triggered historic protests late last year.
As it now dismantles those restrictions,听颁丑颈苍补聽has been particularly critical of decisions by some countries to impose a requirement for a听颁翱痴滨顿聽test on its citizens, saying they are聽.
Health officials from the 27-member European Union are due to meet on Wednesday on a coordinated response to deal with implications of increased travel from听颁丑颈苍补.
Most European Union countries favour聽聽for travellers from听颁丑颈苍补, the European Commission said on Tuesday, following similar measures imposed by the United States, Britain, South Korea and others.
China, which has been largely shut off from the world since the pandemic began in late 2019, will stop requiring inbound travellers to quarantine from Jan. 8. But it will still demand that arriving passengers get tested before they begin their journeys.
Meanwhile, World Health Organization officials met Chinese scientists on Tuesday amid听肠辞苍肠别谤苍s听辞惫别谤听the accuracy of听颁丑颈苍补‘s data on the听蝉辫谤别补诲听and evolution of its outbreak.
The UN agency had invited the scientists to present detailed data on viral sequencing and to share data on hospitalizations, deaths and vaccinations.
The WHO would communicate later, probably at a Wednesday news briefing, its spokesperson said after the meeting. The spokesperson earlier said the agency expected a “detailed discussion” about circulating variants in听颁丑颈苍补, and听驳濒辞产补濒ly.
Last month, Reuters reported that the WHO had not received data from听颁丑颈苍补聽on new听颁翱痴滨顿聽hospitalizations since Beijing’s policy shift, prompting some health experts to question whether it might be hiding information on the extent of its outbreak.
颁丑颈苍补听reported five new听颁翱痴滨顿-19 deaths for Jan. 3, compared with three a day earlier, bringing the official death toll to 5,258, very low by听驳濒辞产补濒聽standards.
But the death toll is widely believed to be much higher. British-based health data firm Airfinity has said about 9,000 people in听颁丑颈苍补聽are probably dying each day from听颁翱痴滨顿.
TRAVEL INTEREST
Despite some countries imposing restrictions on Chinese visitors, interest in outbound travel from the world’s most populous country is cranking up, state media reported.
Bookings for international flights from听颁丑颈苍补聽have risen by 145% year-on-year in recent days, the government-run听颁丑颈苍补聽Daily newspaper reported, citing data from travel booking platform Trip.com.
The number of international flights to and from听颁丑颈苍补聽is still a fraction of pre-颁翱痴滨顿听levels. The government has said it will increase flights and make it easier for people to travel abroad.
Thailand, a major destination for Chinese tourists, is expecting at least five million Chinese arrivals this year, its tourism authority said on Tuesday.
More than 11 million Chinese tourists visited Thailand in 2019, nearly a third of its total visitors.
But there are signs that an increase in travel from听颁丑颈苍补聽could further听蝉辫谤别补诲听the virus abroad.
Health authorities in South Korea, which began testing travelers from听颁丑颈苍补聽for听颁翱痴滨顿聽on Monday, said more than a fifth of the 2,189 arrivals had tested positive. – Reuters
