People in China who have been isolated from the rest of the world for 3 years due to COVID-19 restrictions flocked to sites on Tuesday before borders reopened, even as emerging infections forced the fitness formula and disrupted the economy.
Zero-tolerance measures, from border closures to common blockades, have roiled China’s economy since early 2020, fueling the continent’s biggest manifestation of public discontent last month since President Xi Jinping came to force in 2012.
His policy change this month means the virus is now spreading largely unchecked across the country of 1. 4 billion people.
However, official statistics showed only one COVID-19-related death in the seven days leading up to Monday, raising doubts among fitness experts and citizens about the government’s data. Reopened.
Doctors say hospitals are hit with five or six times as many patients than usual, most of them elderly. International fitness experts estimate millions of infections and expect at least one million COVID-19 deaths in China next year.
However, the government is determined to dismantle the last vestiges of its 0 COVID-19 policy.
On Tuesday, in a first step toward border loosening, hailed through global stock markets, China will prevent incoming travelers from quarantining from Jan. 8, the National Health Commission (NHC) said on Monday.
“Regardless, it feels like China has turned the corner,” AmCham China President Colm Rafferty said of the impending lifting of the quarantine rule.
There are no official restrictions for Chinese traveling abroad, but the new rule will make it much harder for them to return home.
Data from the Ctrip platform showed that an hour after the news was announced, searches for popular cross-border destinations increased tenfold. Macau, Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand and South Korea were the most sought-after, Ctrip said.
Data from Trip. com showed outbound flight bookings rose 254% from early Tuesday morning to the day before.
However, ordinary Chinese and travel agencies have warned that returning to something like general would take a few more months, given concerns about COVID-19 and more cautious spending due to the influence of the pandemic.
Once the border with Hong Kong reopens next month, others in mainland China will be able to receive mRNA vaccines made through BioNTech, which are considered more effective than those obtained in mainland China.
China’s COVID-19 classification will also be downgraded to the least strict category B of the existing high-level category A from January 8, the fitness authority said, the government will no longer be forced to quarantine patients and close contacts and impose lockdowns.
China has changed the name of its term for COVID-19 from “novel coronavirus pneumonia” to “new coronavirus infection,” said a statement issued Monday through the National Health Commission. Omicron remains the dominant variant of COVID-19 in the country, a Central China official said. for Disease Control and Prevention, he said.
But for all the excitement of a slow return to a pre-pandemic lifestyle, there is growing strain on the healthcare system, with doctors saying many hospitals are defeated while funeral homes report a building requiring their services.
Nurses and doctors were asked to paint while they had health problems and retired medical staff from rural communities were rehired to help, state media reported. Some cities are struggling to inventory fever medications.
“Some positions face great strain in emergency departments and hospital intensive care sets,” NHC official Jiao Yahui told reporters.
While the world’s second-largest economy is expected to experience a strong rebound by the end of next year, it is poised to go through a rough patch in the coming weeks and months as it gets sick.
Many department stores in Shanghai, Beijing and elsewhere have closed in recent days because they have been unable to go to work, while some factories have already sent many of their employees on vacation for the Lunar New Year holiday at the end of January.
“Fear of a transient distortion of the chain of origin remains as it is affected by infections,” JPMorgan analysts said in a note, adding that its tracking of subway traffic in 29 cities showed that many other people were restricting their movements as the virus spreads. .
The lifting of restrictions is positive for the $17 trillion economy, but strong warnings apply.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said his country would require a negative COVID-19 result for mainland Chinese travelers. The government would also limit the expansion of flights to China by airlines, he said.
“It is very likely that international travel (. . . ) They will increase, but it may still be several months before volumes return to pre-pandemic levels,” said Dan Wang, chief economist at Hang Seng Bank China.
“COVID continues to spread in most parts of China, particularly disrupting working hours. The loss of productivity is significant. “
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