China threatens tit for tat over Covid-19 curbs on its travellers

Up to 70% of Shanghai population infected with coronavirus: Top doctor

Piqued by several countries, including India, clamping curbs on Chinese travellers amid the massive surge of Covid in the country, China on Tuesday said the restrictions are discriminatory and warned of reciprocal countermeasures.
 

The US, Australia, Canada, India, Israel, Malaysia, Morocco, Qatar, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, and several EU countries have asked travellers from China to take a Covid-19 test prior to boarding their flights, while Morocco has banned Chinese travellers from entering the country.
 

Asked at a media briefing here about the restrictions on Chinese travellers, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning went on the offensive saying “we do not believe the entry restriction measures some countries have taken against China are science-based”.
 

“Some of these measures are disproportionate and simply unacceptable. We firmly reject using Covid measures for political purposes and will take corresponding measures in response to varying situations via the principle of reciprocity,” she said.
 

 The rise in the infections in China comes after stringent restrictions were abruptly loosened in the country following widespread protests in the country. At least 70 percent of Shanghai's population may have been infected with Covid amid China’s massive surge in infections, said Chen Erzhen, vice-president at Ruijin Hospital and a member of Shanghai’s Covid expert advisory pane, state media reported. 

WHO advisors call for ’realistic’ data

Leading scientists advising the World Health Organization (WHO) said they wanted a “more realistic picture” about the Covid-19 situation from China’s top experts at a key meeting on Tuesday as worries grow about the rapid spread of the virus. The WHO invited Chinese scientists to a virtual closed meeting with its technical advisory group on viral evolution.  PTI