Family members reunite in China after three-year COVID separation
Singapore/Shanghai, China Reuters Chu Wenhong would fly back to Shanghai and visit her parents at least once a year after she moved to Singapore in 1994. But she hasn’t been able to do so in the past three years due to China’s signature zero-COVID policy, which involved mass PCR testing, city-wide lockdowns and quarantining all […]
China defends its COVID response after WHO, Biden concerns
Beijing/Shanghai, China Reuters China defended on Thursday its handling of its raging COVID-19 outbreak after US President Joe Biden voiced concern and the World Health Organisation said Beijing was under-reporting virus deaths. The WHO’s emergencies director, Mike Ryan, said on Wednesday that Chinese officials were under-representing data on several fronts, some of the UN agency’s […]
Quick facts – Countries mandate COVID tests for China travellers, EU to discuss
Reuters Authorities around the world are imposing or considering curbs on travellers from China as COVID-19 cases there surge following its relaxation of “zero-COVID” rules. China has rejected criticism of its COVID data. Travellers walk with their luggage at Beijing Capital International Airport, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Beijing, China, on 27th December, […]
China’s vast countryside in rush to bolster COVID defences
Shanghai/Beijing, ChinaReuters China’s thinly resourced countryside is racing to beef up medical facilities before millions of factory workers return home for the Lunar New Year holiday next month from cities where COVID-19 is surging. Having imposed the world’s strictest COVID regime of lockdowns and relentless testing for three years, China reversed course this month towards […]
Gaza Christians say travel curbs separate families at Christmas
GazaReuters As pilgrims from around the world flock to Bethlehem, Jerusalem and Nazareth for Christmas, members of Gaza’s Christian community wait to hear whether Israel will grant them a travel permit. This year, Israeli authorities have approved travel for nearly 600 Palestinian Christians in Gaza, according to COGAT, a unit in Israel’s defence ministry that […]
US steps up fight against Omicron as variant spreads across globe
Washington DC, US/Berlin, GermanyReuters The United States reported its first known case of community transmission of Omicron on Thursday hours before President Joe Biden was due to lay out his strategy to fight the coronavirus in the winter as the highly contagious variant spread across the globe. With authorities around the world scrambling to contain […]
UK PM to chair emergency meeting on travel
Reuters Prime Minister Boris Johnson will chair an emergency response meeting on Monday to discuss international travel, in particular the flow of freight in and out of Britain, a spokeswoman for his office said on Sunday. Britain’s European neighbours began closing their doors to travellers from the United Kingdom on Sunday amid alarm about a […]
New Zealand agrees on two-way ‘travel bubble’ with Australia early 2021
Wellington, New ZealandReuters New Zealand on Monday agreed to allow quarantine-free travel with Australia in the first quarter of 2021, nearly a year after it locked down its borders to protect its population from the global coronavirus pandemic. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the cabinet had agreed in principle for the trans-Tasman, quarantine free travel […]
Updated: Australia warns of impending health system crisis amid surge in coronavirus cases
Updated: 12.45pmSydney, AustraliaReuters Australian officials warned that an accelerating number of coronavirus infections could start overwhelming the country’s intensive care units, as stricter social distancing measures came into force on Wednesday. Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced new curbs late on Tuesday that will close more non-essential businesses, pushing the country closer to the stricter lockdown […]