After a couple of years of being separated from his better half who resides in China, Cheung Seng-bun, a resident of Hongkong made it a point to include himself among the very first ones to cross and enter the border of China. The reopening of the border was announced last Sunday. In addition, the reopening of China’s border also includes entry of people from other countries without requiring strict quarantine.
On the other hand, people who travel and cross between China and Hongkong are still mandated to undergo a necessary Covid-19 test and must present a negative result in order to be granted entry. The test must be taken within the last two days. This is a measure that was opposed and protested by China when it was implemented by other nations and countries.
Of the many regions affected by Covid-19, Hongkong was one of the hard-hit regions and this resulted in the closing of its mainland in a large-scale manner. The closing took place for almost three years. Even when new types of infections are expected, the entry or crossing of thousands and thousands of people each day will absolutely give a boost to the retail and tourism sectors of Hongkong.
Many borders of China still remain sealed to these days, but it is expected to reopen anytime soon. This is for sure because the main airport in Beijing is currently pacing forward to preparing its arrival halls to reopen – arrival halls that became silent for almost three years.
While China still regulates the entry of international flights, the authorities also assure that air travels and domestic rails will duplicate over the same time as last year. This will make the overall numbers become close to the number of travelers coming into the country for a 2019 holiday – the period before the onset of the pandemic.
In consonance with the travel requirements imposed by other countries, especially Sweden and Germany, China said that such testing requirements aren’t based on science. Prior to this, China also said that its health authorities are regularly conducting a daily publication of the country’s daily count of severe cases, new cases, and deaths.
The authorities also said that allowing people with moderate symptoms does not provide them with a vivid picture of the current state of the outbreak. However, the spokespersons of the government said that the current situation is well-managed and under control. They also reject the accusations of The World Health Organization and other parties that the country isn’t transparent in presenting essential information pertaining to the true nature of the present outbreak.
Despite such accusations and assertions, the country’s Health Commission imposed regulations on Saturday – regulations that entail the strengthening of monitoring of potential viral mutations, and these also include urban wastewater testing.
The rules may seem to be somewhat lengthy as they require gathering critical data from hospitals, health departments of the government, and stepped-up examinations on “respiratory ailments and pneumonia with unknown causes.”
Many people have also become angry over the mandate that anyone who has tested positive will be confined in a field hospital. This is enraging because a field hospital is often known to be overcrowded and provides inferior food and mediocre hygiene.
Thus, the economic and social costs have prompted street protests in China’s major cities. This is to encourage and influence the decision of the Communist Party to quickly ease the very strict measures and regulations and reprioritize economic growth instead.
Anyone who violates the border and quarantine regulations will no longer have to deal with criminal charges, that’s part of China’s most recent changes that were issued by the government authorities on Saturday.
