'Travel restrictions targeting only Chinese nationals': China warns of counter-measures amid Covid surge

China covid scare: Several countries, including India and the US, have imposed pre-departure Covid test requirements on people travelling from China and its surrounding regions. On Monday, India issued revised guidelines for international air passengers arriving from China, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, and Japan, mandating an RT-PCR test to be conducted within 72 hours before departure.

Beijing: The government of China has responded strongly to travel restrictions imposed by several nations allegedly targeting Chinese travellers in the wake Covid surge in the country and threatened to impose stricter counter-measures. According to international media reports, the Chinese government has expressed its strong displeasure over the Covid testing requirements for passengers from China in several countries and threatened to take counter-measures against those nations based on reciprocity.

“We believe that the entry restrictions adopted by some countries targeting China lack scientific basis, and some excessive practices are even more unacceptable," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a daily briefing Tuesday. “We are firmly opposed to attempts to manipulate the COVID measures for political purposes and will take countermeasures based on the principle of reciprocity,” Ning stated.

Addressing reporters, Mao Ning said that the "entry restrictions targeting only Chinese travellers" imposed by some countries "lacks scientific basis and some practices are unacceptable".

Several countries, including India and the US, have imposed pre-departure Covid test requirements on people travelling from China and its surrounding regions. On Monday, India issued revised guidelines for international air passengers arriving from China, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, and Japan, mandating an RT-PCR test to be conducted within 72 hours before departure.

This will also apply to transiting passengers through the countries irrespective of their originating countries before coming to any Indian airport. Last week, the US Department of Health announced that from 12.01 a.m. on January 5, 2023, all passengers travelling from China, Hong Kong and Macau would need a negative Covid test to enter the country in order to "slow the spread" of the virus.

The tests can be either an RT-PCR or an antigen self-test administered through a telehealth service, the Department said, adding that the travellers would need to take a test no more than two days before departure. Some of the other countries that have taken similar measures include the UK, South Korea, France, Spain and Israel.

The developments come after China announced it would ease its curbs on travel to and from the country for the first time after almost three years of restrictions. From January 8, quarantine for travellers entering China will end, and passport applications for Chinese citizens will resume. Meanwhile, the actual toll of daily cases and deaths in China is unknown because officials have stopped releasing the data.

Media reports have said that hospitals are overwhelmed and elderly people are dying.

(With Reuters Inputs)