Test- and quarantine-free travel to China resumed on January 8, as China abolished almost all Covid-prevention measures, except the wearing of face masks. Hainan Airlines will resume direct flights between Brussels and Beijing on January 12, eliminating the Xian stop-over for a five-day quarantine. But many European countries – including Belgium – now require a PCR test taken within 48 hours before departure for passengers on direct flights from China to Europe.
Hundreds of millions of people in China have been infected since the country’s abrupt shift from its zero-Covid policy in early December. Major Chinese cities have passed peak Covid-19 infections, with the number of patients in emergency wards dropping and patients in intensive care plateauing, according to Jiao Yahui, Director of the National Health Commission’s Medical Administration Bureau. Smaller cities and rural areas have also witnessed large numbers of infections recently and will face a peak in severe patients and those needing emergency treatment during the Spring Festival travel period. Jiao added that the number of patients showing symptoms of pneumonia accounted for around 8% of Covid patients in 2022. With the number of patients needing intensive care rising, the occupancy rate of ICU beds increased rapidly between December and January, rising from 54% on December 25 to around 80% now.
People with “mild” symptoms, together with those who are asymptomatic, account for 90% to 98% of total infections, but for many the symptoms are still very painful, including several days of fever, a piercing sensation in the throat and a persistent cough. Some question Chinese experts' characterization of Omicron's symptoms as “mild” and “similar to a cold”. Jin Dongyan, Virologist at the University of Hong Kong, said China’s way of categorization was “wrong, misleading and unacceptable”. But the actual severity of symptoms in China is more or less the same as in the rest of the world, he said. Even if someone’s throat feels like it is being cut by a knife, it is a “mild symptom”, as it is an upper respiratory infection – not pneumonia, Jin added.
With people contracting the same strains, most symptoms in China, like fever, cough and fatigue, are similar to those in Europe, said Therese Hesketh, Global Health Professor at University College London. “Diarrhea seems to be more common in China. People also talk about more severe symptoms, especially in the elderly, like myocarditis,” she added. On January 8, Chinese officials formally clarified that Covid-19 should not be compared to a “cold” – but to a “flu” – in an effort to discourage underestimations of the risks.
European countries have been accused by epidemiologists and health experts of ignoring scientific advice in requiring travelers from China to show a negative Covid-19 test before boarding flights to the continent. “We’ve known since well before Covid that point of entry/point of exit screening is largely ineffective at controlling the international spread of infectious diseases,” said Paul Hunter, Epidemiologist at the University of East Anglia in Britain. “Given higher population immunity in the EU, a surge in cases in China is not expected to impact the Covid-19 epidemiological situation in the EU,” the European Center for Disease Control noted.
Aviation industry figures also accused governments of acting “more for populist reasons rather than to attain public health goals”. “We all know that uncertainty prevents companies from planning, programming and selling travel and holidays,” Eric Drésin, Secretary General of the European Travel Agents’ and Tour Operators’ Associations, told Politico. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said “governments must base their decisions on ‘science facts’ rather than ‘science politics’”. “Governments should listen to the advice of experts, including the World Health Organization (WHO), that advise against travel restrictions,” said Director General, Willie Walsh, who also called for China to “remove the need for pre-departure Covid-19 testing for those traveling to China”. As many as 130 sub-lineages of the Omicron variant have been detected in China in the past three months, health officials said, adding that mutations will continue as the disease spreads.
On January 8, tens of thousands of Hong Kong travelers crossed newly reopened border checkpoints between Hong Kong and mainland China for family reunions or business purposes without the need to quarantine for the first time in three years. At the Lok Ma Chau spur line checkpoint, which will handle 70% of the 50,000 daily quota for travelers heading to the mainland, many people had taken the first train at 5.28 am from Mong Kong East station before the crossing opened at 6.30 am. It is among four border control points resuming operations, with the others being at Man Kam To, the Macao Ferry Terminal in Sheung Wan and China Ferry Terminal in Tsim Sha Tsui. Just three control points never closed for the pandemic – those at Shenzhen Bay Port, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and Hong Kong International Airport. To cross the border, Hong Kong travelers must register in advance on an online platform while mainland residents heading to the city will have to make a booking on an official Shenzhen government website.
The number of passenger trips is expected to dramatically surge during this year’s 40-day Spring Festival travel period starting on January 7, compared with last year. About 2.1 billion passenger trips are expected to be made during the period, a year-on-year increase of 99.5%, Vice Minister of Transport Xu Chengguang said. The Spring Festival this year falls on January 22, and travel usually peaks before and after the seven-day holiday.
China’s CanSino Biologics' Covid-19 mRNA booster vaccine has entered the test production phase. The vaccine, known as CS-2034, targets new Omicron variants which are responsible for the vast majority of infections sweeping across China since the country began dismantling strict Covid-19 curbs last month. China has so far relied on nine domestically developed Covid vaccines, including inactivated varieties, but none had been adapted to target the highly transmissible Omicron variant and its offshoots currently in circulation. According to CanSino, 100 million doses of its new mRNA vaccine could be produced in the first phase.
The first domestically developed extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) machine was launched in China to treat Covid-19 patients in critical condition and boosting the development of the country’s high-end medical devices market. The National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) approved the emergency use of the first domestic ECMO equipment made by Shenzhen, Guangdong province-based Chinabridge
As a result of the Covid pandemic and limits on travel, English proficiency is dropping in China. According to Swedish company EF Education First, China’s ranking in English proficiency dropped to 62nd place among 111 non-English speaking countries and regions. In the company’s 2022 English Proficiency Index, China scored 498 points out of 800, dropping from 49th place in 2021 with a score of 513, and 38th in 2020 with a score of 520. The country’s English proficiency has slipped from moderate to low, according to the company.
This overview is based on reports by the China Daily, Shanghai Daily, Global Times and South China Morning Post.
