China dropped mandatory COVID-19 testing for incoming travelers on Wednesday, becoming one of the last countries in the world to do so.
25.08.2023 - 14:28 / skift.com
China, grappling with a new wave of COVID-19 infections, took another step towards loosening its pandemic-related restrictions on Saturday when Hong Kong‘s leader announced it would aim to re-open its borders with the mainland by mid-January.
Speaking at a news conference upon returning from Beijing, Hong Kong Chief executive John Lee said authorities would aim to “gradually, orderly, and fully” re-open all entry points between the two sides, and coordinate with the government of nearby Shenzhen to manage the flow of people.
At present, individuals hoping to enter the mainland through Hong Kong can only do so through the city’s airport or two checkpoints – Shenzhen Bay or the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge.
Entrants into the mainland must also undergo a period of hotel quarantine before they can move about freely.
Hong Kong and Beijing shut their borders in early 2020 as COVID first surfaced and they have remained closed since then, as China has capped inbound travellers as part of its strict “zero-COVID” policy.
Beijing loosened China’s domestic zero-COVID restrictions earlier this month, dropping mandatory testing requirements and travel restrictions.
While many have welcomed the easing, families and the health system were unprepared for the resulting surge of infections. Hospitals are scrambling for beds and blood, pharmacies for drugs and authorities are racing to build clinics.
In advance of Christmas, Shanghai authorities urged residents to stay at home this weekend to curb the virus’s spread. The holiday is not traditionally celebrated in China, but it is common for young couples and some families to spend the holiday together.
Despite those warnings, an annual Christmas market held at the Bund, a commercial area, was packed with attendees.
“My friends are basically all positive, and all have basically recovered,” said Liu Yang, 23, an IT worker attending the market.
“We wanted to take advantage of Christmas, and it’s the weekend, we wanted to walk around and enjoy the air, so we came here.”
Still, the spread of Omicron is dampening festivities for other retailers and eateries.
Many Shanghai restaurants have cancelled Christmas parties normally held for regulars, while hotels have capped reservations due to staff shortages, said Jacqueline Mocatta, who works in the hospitality industry.
“There’s only a certain amount of customers we can accept given our manpower, with a majority of team members who are unwell at the moment,” she said.
Infections in China are likely more than a million a day with deaths at more than 5,000 a day, British-based health data firm Airfinity said this week, describing the estimates as a “stark contrast” to official data.
China’s national health authority on Saturday
China dropped mandatory COVID-19 testing for incoming travelers on Wednesday, becoming one of the last countries in the world to do so.
Travel platform Agoda has been pushing ahead with a series of new fintech partnerships, with its eye on Asia’s corporate travel recovery.
A day after China announced some major changes to its controversial zero-Covid policy, Hong Kong on Thursday announced that inbound arrivals would need to undergo daily rapid antigen tests for five days, instead of seven days.
After a whole lot of “will they, won’t they,” Hong Kong has finally announced that visitors to the destination would no longer be subject to home monitoring for three days.
Airlines have boosted January international seat capacity to and from China by 9.5 percent over the last week as they ramp up flights after its border opening, according to aviation data provider Cirium, though flights remain at a fraction of pre-pandemic levels.
India is making a PCR Covid test mandatory for inbound arrivals from China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, Japan, and South Korea, from January 1.
South Korean and Japanese shop owners, Thai tour bus operators and K-pop groups are among those celebrating China’s border reopening as businesses around Asia rekindle ties with the region’s largest economy.
China on Saturday marked the first day of “chun yun”, the 40-day period of Lunar New Year travel known pre-pandemic as the world’s largest annual migration of people, bracing for a huge increase in travellers and the spread of COVID-19 infections.
Three years of COVID-19 forced Becky Zhang’s specialty food business in Macau to near collapse. Founded by her grandmother more than fifty years ago, her store selling pastries and dried beef only survived thanks to residents who bought small quantities to help keep them afloat.
Good morning from Skift. It’s Monday, January 23. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
Chinese conglomerate Fosun International is hoping its vacation business segment will pull it out of a slump.
Hong Kong leader John Lee unveiled on Thursday a promotion campaign that will include 500,000 free flights to lure visitors, businesses and investors back to the financial hub after more than three years of tough Covid-19 curbs.