Inbound passengers wait in a queue at Malpensa Airport in Milan, Italy, on December 29 after Italy ordered Covid-19 antigen swabs and virus sequencing for all travellers coming from China. Picture: REUTERS/JENNIFER LORENZINI
Department of health spokesperson Foster Mohale said: “There is no immediate plan to impose travel restrictions or special requirements on travellers from China and other parts of the world. However, we are monitoring the surge of cases in China.” De Oliveira said the wave of Covid-19 infections in China seems to be “enormous, some of the epidemiological modelling and news point to millions of daily infections and up to 9,000 daily deaths”.
“In summary, we should be alerted of the situation in China and support them to control [it]. We should also do our homework so, in case a new wave starts, it can be managed effectively. We are not in 2019 but end of 2022 and we have the tools [and] knowledge to manage the pandemic.” More than 80% of those living in southwestern Sichuan have been infected, the province’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has said.
China has said it only counts deaths of Covid-19 patients caused by pneumonia and respiratory failure as being related to the disease. The relatively low death count is also inconsistent with rising demand reported by funeral parlours in several cities.Authorities around the world are imposing or considering curbs on travellers from China They cite a lack of information from China on variants and are concerned about a wave of infections.
Ban all international travel from China. They created it, now it's time to pay the piper.