BEIJING, Aug 4 — China today tightened overseas travel restrictions for its citizens as part of efforts to contain rising coronavirus cases, after reporting its highest number of infections in months.
The latest outbreak is threatening to undo the country’s economic rebound and return to normal life with nearly 500 domestic cases reported since mid-July. China’s immigration authority on Wednesday announced it would stop issuing ordinary passports and other documents needed for exiting the country in “non-essential and non-emergency” cases.Immigration official Liu Haitao told a press briefing that those who “have real needs for studying abroad, employment and business” will still have their documents issued upon verification.
Long lines of residents waited at outdoor testing stations in the summer heat yesterday, fanning themselves with paper forms while workers in hazmat suits took throat samples.