Status: 12/28/2022 1:09 p.m
From January 8th, China wants to dispense with a PCR test when entering the country from abroad, Hong Kong is relaxing some of its corona measures. In response, however, some other countries are now tightening their entry rules for travelers from China.
China and the Chinese Hong Kong Special Administrative Region have relaxed most of their corona measures. This was announced by officials from both sides.
No PCR test when entering China
After China only announced on Monday that it no longer wanted to quarantine travelers from abroad from January 8th, the Chinese customs authorities have now announced that the mandatory PCR test on entry will also be eliminated from January 8th.
The country’s immigration authorities also announced plans to issue new passports. Applications would be accepted from January 8th. According to the authority, Chinese would again be allowed to visit and business trips to Hong Kong.
In addition, foreign visitors should gradually be allowed back into the country. Visas and residence permits would be issued, it said. It remains unclear when tourism will be fully possible again.
Hong Kong lifts almost all corona measures
The Chinese special administrative region of Hong Kong has meanwhile announced that it wants to lift almost all remaining corona protection measures. According to Hong Kong Prime Minister John Lee, the previously mandatory PCR test for travelers from abroad will no longer apply from tomorrow – as will the local vaccination card, which was necessary for access to most events.
The regulations on the maximum number of people who are allowed to meet are also no longer applicable. One measure remains for the time being: Wearing a mask is still mandatory, Lee explained.
He said that Hong Kong had “achieved a relatively high vaccination rate”. Hong Kong has enough drugs “to fight Covid”. Lee also argued that the medical staff had a lot of experience “dealing with the pandemic”.
Hong Kong has followed China with Covid policy so far
Just last week, Lee announced that he wanted to open the border with China, which had been closed since the pandemic began in early 2020, by mid-January.
The former British crown colony of Hong Kong had largely followed China’s strict corona course in the fight against the pandemic. At the beginning of the month, the People’s Republic abruptly changed course after popular protests and introduced more and more easing. However, this led to a strong wave of infections.
Low numbers in China by way of counting
The fact that the official numbers of corona deaths in China are still so low is partly due to the fact that the People’s Republic only counts fatalities who died of pneumonia or respiratory failure. Patients who die from other reasons with a corona infection are not included in these statistics. However, the low numbers contrast with the statements made by funeral homes and the experience of other less populous countries after the relaxation of the corona measures.
Other countries are tightening China entry rules
In response to the easing in China, other countries are now tightening their regulations for travelers from mainland China. India, Japan and Taiwan want to prescribe negative corona tests for these travelers.
And the United States is also considering entry restrictions for travelers from China. The government is following “the science and the advice of health experts” and is considering steps “to protect the American people,” officials said.
For the time being, Germany is not reacting to China’s relaxed travel regulations with entry restrictions. “We are monitoring the situation in China very, very closely,” said a spokesman for the Federal Ministry of Health. With a view to corona cases, however, there is currently no indication “that a more dangerous mutation has developed in this outbreak in China, which would be the reason for declaring a virus variant area – which would then result in corresponding travel restrictions”.