Chinese prepare for travel after easing COVID restrictions
2022.12.27 00:22
Chinese prepare for travel after easing COVID restrictions
Budrigannews.com – Even as rising infections strained the health system and wreaked havoc on the economy, Chinese people flocked to travel destinations on Tuesday ahead of the reopening of borders, despite being cut off from the rest of the world for three years by COVID-19 restrictions.
Since the beginning of 2020, zero-tolerance measures such as closed borders and frequent lockdowns have harmed China’s economy, contributing to the mainland’s largest demonstration of public discontent since President Xi Jinping assumed power in 2012.
Because of his policy change this month, the virus is now spreading throughout the nation of 1.4 billion people largely unchecked.
However, no new COVID deaths have been reported in official statistics since Sunday, raising questions among health professionals and residents regarding the government’s data.
According to doctors, hospitals are overwhelmed by five to six times the usual number of patients, the majority of whom are elderly. Experts in international health estimations anticipate at least one million COVID deaths in China next year and millions of infections per day.
However, authorities are determined to eliminate their remaining zero-COVID policies.
The National Health Commission announced late on Monday that China will stop requiring inbound travelers to enter quarantine on January 8, a significant step toward easing border restrictions that was applauded by Asian stock markets on Tuesday.
AmCham China Chairman Colm Rafferty said of the planned lifting of quarantine restrictions, “It finally feels like China has turned the corner.”
According to data from the travel platform Ctrip, searches for popular cross-border destinations had increased tenfold within a half-hour of the news. Ctrip stated that Macau, Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand, and South Korea were the most sought-after.
According to data from Qunar, a different platform, searches for international flights increased sevenfold within 15 minutes of the announcement, with Thailand, Japan, and South Korea at the top of the list.
The health authority stated that COVID’s current top-level category, Category A, will be downgraded to the less stringent Category B starting on January 8 because it has become less virulent.
As a result of the change, authorities will no longer be required to isolate regions and quarantine patients and their close contacts.
However, despite the excitement of slowly returning to pre-COVID ways of life, there was growing pressure on China’s healthcare system. Doctors said that many hospitals were overcrowded, and funeral parlor workers said that more people wanted their services.
According to state media, doctors and nurses have been asked to work while sick, and retired medical professionals in rural communities have been rehired to assist. Anti-fever medications have been difficult to come by in some cities.
“Take a look at the funeral homes in a variety of cities. “I heard that we have to wait three to five days for cremation here,” a social media user in the eastern province of Shandong complained.
Even though the world’s second-largest economy is expected to make a big comeback later this year, it will have a rough ride in the coming weeks and months as more and more workers get sick.
Many shops in Shanghai, Beijing and somewhere else have been compelled to shut as of late with staff unfit to come to work, while certain plants have previously sent a significant number of their laborers on leave for the late January Lunar New Year occasions.
According to JPMorgan (NYSE:), “The concern of a temporary supply chain distortion remains as the labor force is impacted by infections.” In a note, analysts said that they had tracked subway traffic in 29 Chinese cities and found that many people were restricting their movement as the virus spread.
Industrial profits fell 3.6% in January-November from a year earlier, compared to a 3.0% drop in January-October, according to data on Tuesday. This was due to the impact of the anti-virus restrictions that were in place last month, including in major manufacturing regions.
The $17 trillion economy benefits from the lifting of travel restrictions, but there are important caveats.
Dan Wang, chief economist at Bank China, stated, “International travel… will likely surge, but it may take many more months before volumes return to the level before the pandemic.”
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“COVID continues to spread throughout the majority of China, significantly disrupting the regular work schedule. The sudden spike in demand will outpace the recovery in supply, resulting in a significant loss of productivity and inflationary pressures in the coming months.”
