China resumes international flights after 2 year gap despite surge in COVID-19 cases

Amid a massive surge in COVID-19 infections in China, the country’s health commission, on Wednesday, reported that the Chinese mainland has recorded nearly 112 fresh COVID-19 infections in the last 24 hours. On the mainland, there were 69 COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, as per an ANI report.

Further, 81 cases among the fresh instances of the coronavirus disease on the mainland, according to China's National Health Commission, are from the region of Anhui. In the past 24 hours, 141 asymptomatic instances have also been documented in the area. However, even though the cases are high in China, Beijing has started allowing international flights after two years of ban due to the COVID-19 outbreak.   

COVID cases in China

A total of 267 documented COVID-19 infections, including one from abroad, and 1,002 asymptomatic carriers have been recorded in Anhui between June 26 and July 5, according to the Xinhua news agency. Further, Shanghai, the industrial capital of China, has recorded 24 cases of COVID-19 over time, of which nine are confirmed and 15 instances are asymptomatic, Xinhua reported, quoting the city's health commission on Wednesday.  

As of Tuesday, July 5, at least 2,20,226 COVID-19 patients have been released from hospitals after making a full recovery, according to a statement from the National Health Commission, as reported by Xinhua.  

China resumes international flights after 2 year gap

Meanwhile, despite the rise in cases, China has further simplified the processes of international flight visitors after altering the quarantine duration for inbound travellers from the previous 2-day isolation to 7 days in approved hotels followed by 3-days of isolation at home, PTI reported.

The state-run Global Times said that the policy has caused a sharp rise in the number of flights linking China with other nations, particularly the US, and the number of individuals leaving the country, touting it as evidence of China progressively reopening its borders to the rest of the world. 

The announcement of policies to simplify entry procedures into the Chinese mainland by its embassies and consulates in 125 nations marked one of China's most significant changes since the COVID-19 outbreak, Global Times reported, adding that 2,025 inbound passenger flights were scheduled to resume from early this week. 

Apart from this, just days after Beijing began to lift widespread restrictions that were placed for over a month to address a larger outbreak in late April, the city has now been subjecting millions of citizens to mandatory testing and placing thousands of people under targeted lockdowns due to the most recent outbreak. The first half of 2022 has seen significant negative repercussions on the livelihoods of China's citizens as a result of stringent lockdowns and testing processes in various sections of the country. 

According to the ANI report, the financial consequences of the zero-COVID strategy imposed by the Xi Jinping government have affected the nation's revenue. The Chinese Finance Ministry said that for the four months ending in April, fiscal income decreased by 4.8% in the year, mostly as a result of tax refunds intended to help enterprises. 

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