{"id":2779,"date":"2023-01-03T15:19:56","date_gmt":"2023-01-03T15:19:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londonpost.news\/?p=2779"},"modified":"2023-03-23T18:51:20","modified_gmt":"2023-03-23T18:51:20","slug":"beijing-threatens-to-respond-to-unacceptable-virus-measures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/magazine\/health-and-lifestyle\/beijing-threatens-to-respond-to-unacceptable-virus-measures\/2023\/01\/03\/admin1\/","title":{"rendered":"Beijing threatens to respond to ‘unacceptable’ virus measures"},"content":{"rendered":"

BEIJING<\/span>(AP),<\/span> Jan.<\/span> 3<\/span> –<\/span> The<\/span> Chinese<\/span> government<\/span> has<\/span> sharply<\/span> criticized<\/span> her<\/span> COVID-19<\/span> testing<\/span> requirements<\/span> imposed<\/span> on<\/span> passengers<\/span> from<\/span> China,<\/span> threatening<\/span> countermeasures<\/span> against<\/span> concerned<\/span> countries,<\/span> including<\/span> the<\/span> United<\/span> States<\/span> and<\/span> several<\/span> European<\/span> countries.<\/span>\u00a0
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>China’s<\/span> foreign<\/span> ministry<\/span> spokesman<\/span> Mao<\/span> Ning<\/span> said<\/span> at<\/span> a<\/span> regular<\/span> press<\/span> briefing<\/span> on<\/span> Tuesday,<\/span> “We<\/span> believe<\/span> that<\/span> some<\/span> countries’<\/span> entry<\/span> restrictions<\/span> aimed<\/span> at<\/span> China<\/span> have<\/span> no<\/span> scientific<\/span> basis,<\/span> and<\/span> some<\/span> excessive<\/span> practices<\/span> are<\/span> even<\/span> more<\/span> unacceptable.<\/span> there<\/span> is,”<\/span> he<\/span> said.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>\u201cWe<\/span> firmly<\/span> oppose<\/span> attempts<\/span> to<\/span> manipulate<\/span> the<\/span> response<\/span> to<\/span> COVID-19<\/span> for<\/span> political<\/span> purposes<\/span> and<\/span> will<\/span> act<\/span> on<\/span> the<\/span> principle<\/span> of<\/span> reciprocity,\u201d<\/span> she<\/span> said.<\/span> Mao<\/span> has<\/span> not<\/span> indicated<\/span> what<\/span> steps<\/span> China<\/span> might<\/span> take.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> comments<\/span> were<\/span> China’s<\/span> toughest<\/span> yet<\/span> on<\/span> the<\/span> issue.<\/span> Australia<\/span> and<\/span> Canada<\/span> this<\/span> week<\/span> to<\/span> have<\/span> travelers<\/span> from<\/span> China<\/span> tested<\/span> for<\/span> COVID-19<\/span> before<\/span> boarding<\/span> as<\/span> China<\/span> battles<\/span> a<\/span> nationwide<\/span> coronavirus<\/span> outbreak<\/span> after<\/span> restrictions<\/span> that<\/span> applied<\/span> to<\/span> much<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> pandemic<\/span> were<\/span> suddenly<\/span> eased<\/span> joined<\/span> the<\/span> list<\/span> of<\/span> countries<\/span> that<\/span> required.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Other<\/span> countries,<\/span> including<\/span> the<\/span> United<\/span> States,<\/span> United<\/span> Kingdom,<\/span> India,<\/span> Japan,<\/span> and<\/span> some<\/span> European<\/span> nations,<\/span> amid<\/span> concerns<\/span> over<\/span> the<\/span> lack<\/span> of<\/span> data<\/span> on<\/span> infections<\/span> in<\/span> China<\/span> and<\/span> fears<\/span> that<\/span> new<\/span> strains<\/span> may<\/span> emerge,<\/span> have<\/span> banned<\/span> travel<\/span> from<\/span> China.<\/span>\u00a0
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Starting<\/span> Wednesday,<\/span> anyone<\/span> traveling<\/span> from<\/span> China<\/span> to<\/span> France<\/span> will<\/span> be<\/span> required<\/span> to<\/span> present<\/span> a<\/span> negative<\/span> virus<\/span> test<\/span> taken<\/span> within<\/span> the<\/span> last<\/span> 48<\/span> hours<\/span> and<\/span> be<\/span> randomly<\/span> tested<\/span> upon<\/span> arrival.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> UK<\/span> will<\/span> require<\/span> passengers<\/span> from<\/span> China<\/span> to<\/span> undergo<\/span> a<\/span> COVID<\/span> test<\/span> before<\/span> boarding<\/span> flights<\/span> from<\/span> Thursday.Transportation<\/span> Secretary<\/span> Mark<\/span> Harper<\/span> said<\/span> Beijing<\/span> does<\/span> not<\/span> share<\/span> coronavirus<\/span> data,<\/span> so<\/span> the<\/span> requirement<\/span> is<\/span> “informative”.<\/span> ,”<\/span> he<\/span> said.<\/span> Health<\/span> officials<\/span> will<\/span> test<\/span> samples<\/span> of<\/span> passengers<\/span> arriving<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> UK,<\/span> but<\/span> he<\/span> said<\/span> those<\/span> who<\/span> test<\/span> positive<\/span> do<\/span> not<\/span> require<\/span> quarantine.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Sweden’s<\/span> health<\/span> agency<\/span> said<\/span> on<\/span> Tuesday<\/span> it<\/span> had<\/span> asked<\/span> the<\/span> government<\/span> to<\/span> show<\/span> travelers<\/span> from<\/span> China<\/span> a<\/span> recent<\/span> negative<\/span> COVID-19<\/span> test.<\/span><\/p>\n


\n<\/span>The<\/span> agency’s<\/span> statement<\/span> came<\/span> as<\/span> Sweden,<\/span> which<\/span> took<\/span> over<\/span> the<\/span> EU’s<\/span> rotating<\/span> presidency,<\/span> on<\/span> Wednesday<\/span> tried<\/span> to<\/span> convene<\/span> a<\/span> meeting<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> EU’s<\/span> crisis<\/span> management<\/span> mechanism<\/span> and<\/span> agree<\/span> on<\/span> a<\/span> common<\/span> European<\/span> policy.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> Swedish<\/span> government<\/span> is<\/span> “preparing<\/span> to<\/span> introduce<\/span> travel<\/span> restrictions.<\/span> At<\/span> the<\/span> same<\/span> time,<\/span> we<\/span> are<\/span> in<\/span> dialogue<\/span> with<\/span> our<\/span> European<\/span> colleagues<\/span> to<\/span> achieve<\/span> the<\/span> most<\/span> equal<\/span> rules<\/span> possible<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> EU,”<\/span> Justice<\/span> Minister<\/span> Gunner<\/span> Str\u00f6mer<\/span> said<\/span> in<\/span> a<\/span> statement.<\/span> rice<\/span> field.<\/span> Austria<\/span> also<\/span> plans<\/span> to<\/span> test<\/span> wastewater<\/span> from<\/span> all<\/span> planes<\/span> arriving<\/span> from<\/span> China<\/span> for<\/span> new<\/span> variants<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> coronavirus,<\/span> the<\/span> Austrian<\/span> Press<\/span> Agency<\/span> said<\/span> on<\/span> Tuesday<\/span> after<\/span> Belgium<\/span> made<\/span> a<\/span> similar<\/span> announcement<\/span> the<\/span> day<\/span> before.<\/span>\u00a0
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Chinese<\/span> health<\/span> officials<\/span> said<\/span> last<\/span> week<\/span> they<\/span> had<\/span> submitted<\/span> data<\/span> to<\/span> GISAID,<\/span> a<\/span> global<\/span> platform<\/span> for<\/span> sharing<\/span> coronavirus<\/span> data.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> version<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> virus<\/span> that<\/span> helped<\/span> spread<\/span> China’s<\/span> outbreak<\/span> was<\/span> “very<\/span> similar”<\/span> to<\/span> that<\/span> seen<\/span> in<\/span> various<\/span> parts<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> world<\/span> between<\/span> July<\/span> and<\/span> December,<\/span> GISAID<\/span> said<\/span> Monday.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Hong<\/span> Kong<\/span> officials<\/span> also<\/span> criticized<\/span> other<\/span> countries’<\/span> moves.<\/span> Some<\/span> countries<\/span> apply<\/span> this<\/span> requirement<\/span> not<\/span> only<\/span> to<\/span> mainland<\/span> China,<\/span> but<\/span> also<\/span> to<\/span> passengers<\/span> from<\/span> the<\/span> semi-autonomous<\/span> regions<\/span> of<\/span> Hong<\/span> Kong<\/span> and<\/span> Macau.<\/span> Hong<\/span> Kong’s<\/span> chief<\/span> secretary<\/span> Eric<\/span> Chan<\/span> said<\/span> in<\/span> a<\/span> Facebook<\/span> post<\/span> that<\/span> the<\/span> government<\/span> had<\/span> sent<\/span> letters<\/span> to<\/span> various<\/span> consulates<\/span> on<\/span> Monday<\/span> expressing<\/span> concern<\/span> over<\/span> the<\/span> “unnecessary<\/span> and<\/span> inappropriate”<\/span> regulations.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>China,<\/span> which<\/span> has<\/span> followed<\/span> a<\/span> “COVID<\/span> Zero”<\/span> strategy<\/span> for<\/span> most<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> pandemic<\/span> and<\/span> has<\/span> imposed<\/span> strict<\/span> restrictions<\/span> to<\/span> eradicate<\/span> the<\/span> virus,<\/span> abruptly<\/span> eased<\/span> those<\/span> measures<\/span> in<\/span> December.<\/span><\/p>\n


\n<\/span>Chinese<\/span> officials<\/span> had<\/span> earlier<\/span> said<\/span> that<\/span> after<\/span> January<\/span> 8,<\/span> international<\/span> travelers<\/span> would<\/span> no<\/span> longer<\/span> be<\/span> required<\/span> to<\/span> quarantine<\/span> upon<\/span> arrival<\/span> in<\/span> China,<\/span> opening<\/span> the<\/span> way<\/span> for<\/span> Chinese<\/span> residents.<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BEIJING(AP), Jan. 3 – The Chinese government has sharply criticized her COVID-19 testing requirements imposed on passengers from China, threatening countermeasures against concerned countries, including the United States and several European countries.\u00a0 China’s foreign ministry spokesman Mao Ning said at a regular press briefing on Tuesday, “We believe that some countries’ entry restrictions aimed at […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2778,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":""},"categories":[562,2407,2425,2428],"tags":[152,155,422,657,658,659],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/138870367_15840009372431n-scaled.jpg","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2779"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2779"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2779\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2782,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2779\/revisions\/2782"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2778"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2779"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2779"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2779"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}