China’s Ministry of Transportation on Friday (January 6) called on travelers to reduce travel and gatherings, especially for young children, the elderly, pregnant women and people with underlying diseases. The government is trying to minimize the chance of a major new Covid outbreak during the Lunar New Year travel rush this month, according to an Associated Press report.
Speaking to reporters, Vice Transport Minister Xu Chengguang said that people using public transport should wear masks and pay special attention to their health and hygiene.
China is currently experiencing an unprecedented rise in covid infections, an overstretched healthcare system, shortages of life-saving drugs, and a low vaccination rate among the elderly. In December last year, the government abruptly lifted strict restrictions on lockdowns, mass testing and quarantines.
On Sunday (January 8), the government will end mandatory quarantines for people arriving in China from abroad.
The current outbreak of Covid in China appears to have spread fastest in densely populated cities, the Associated Press report said on Friday. Government authorities are now concerned about the potential spread of the virus to smaller towns and rural areas that lack medical resources like ICU beds.
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Several rural residents struggle to access nearby doctors and medicine. Yanzhong Huang, senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations, told the AFP news agency on Friday that people dissatisfied with the poor quality of rural healthcare will bypass local providers to seek care at urban hospitals. .
Many countries have criticized China for not sharing enough details about the pandemic situation, particularly about the possible emergence of new Covid variants. On Wednesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that the current virus figures released by Beijing underrepresent the true impact of Covid in terms of hospitalizations and deaths.
A growing number of countries are also imposing mandatory virus testing requirements for people arriving from China, a move severely criticized by Beijing.
(With agency contributions)
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