Lack of info on China’s COVID-19 surge stirs global concern
Masked travellers with luggage line up at the international flight check-in counter at the Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing, Thursday, December 29, 2022. Moves by the US, Japan and others to mandate COVID-19 tests for passengers arriving from China reflect global concern that new variants could emerge in its ongoing explosive outbreak — and the government may not inform the rest of the world quickly enough. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
BEIJING (AP) — Moves by several countries to mandate COVID-19 tests for passengers arriving from China reflect global concern that new variants could emerge in its ongoing explosive outbreak — and that the government may not inform the rest of the world quickly enough.
There have been no reports of new variants to date, but China has been accused of not being forthcoming about the virus since it first surfaced in the country in late 2019.
The worry is that it may not be sharing data now on any signs of evolving strains that could spark fresh outbreaks elsewhere.
The United States, Japan, India, South Korea, Taiwan and Italy have announced testing requirements for passengers from China.
The US cited both the surge in infections and what it said was a lack of information, including genomic sequencing of the virus strains in the country.
Authorities in Taiwan and Japan have expressed similar concerns.
“Right now the pandemic situation in China is not transparent,” Wang Pi-Sheng, the head of Taiwan’s epidemic command centre, told The Associated Press.
“We have a very limited grasp on its information, and it’s not very accurate.”
The island will start testing everyone arriving from China on January 1, ahead of the expected return of about 30,000 Taiwanese for the Lunar New Year holiday later in the month.
The new Japanese rules, which restrict flights from mainland China, Hong Kong and Macao to designated airports beginning Friday, are already disrupting holiday travel plans.