China and Hong Kong Close Doors Amid Fear of COVID-19 'Reverse Inflow'

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Beijing=Correspondent Park Sun-mi] China and Hong Kong, judging the sharp increase in overseas imported COVID-19 cases as a new crisis, are strengthening entry bans on foreigners.

On the 24th, China's National Health Commission (NHC) announced that among the 78 newly confirmed cases added the previous day, 74 were COVID-19 infections imported from overseas. Beijing had the highest number with 31 cases, followed by Guangdong Province (14), Shanghai (9), Fujian Province (5), Tianjin (4), Jiangsu Province (3), Zhejiang Province (2), Sichuan Province (2), Shanxi Province (1), Liaoning Province (1), Shandong Province (1), and Chongqing City (1), where new overseas imported cases were added.

The number of overseas imported cases in China has been on the rise: 34 on the 18th, 39 on the 19th, 41 on the 20th, 45 on the 21st, 39 on the 22nd, and 74 on the 23rd. So far, China has reported a total of 427 overseas imported COVID-19 cases.

Beijing, which has the highest number of overseas imported COVID-19 cases, does not ban entry from abroad but effectively blocks incoming travelers through measures such as mandatory 14-day facility quarantine, passenger screening after priority landing in 12 cities near Beijing, and suspension of international flights to Beijing.

Regarding the Incheon-Beijing route, Korean Air will suspend operations from the 28th of this month until April 25th, and Asiana Airlines has canceled flights on the 26th and 28th and is reviewing whether to suspend further flights. China Southern Airlines has also decided to suspend Korea-China routes from the 26th of this month until April 5th. Since the COVID-19 outbreak, Korea-China routes have decreased by 92% compared to before.

To block overseas imported COVID-19 cases, China is also postponing international events that could bring in large numbers of foreigners. The Boao Forum, originally scheduled to be held for four days from the 24th to the 27th of this month in Hainan, China, has been postponed, followed by the postponement of the China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair), China's largest trade exhibition, which was scheduled for the 15th of next month.

There are criticisms that the absence of new domestic COVID-19 cases in China is due to data manipulation, but China denies any "manipulation." China does not publicly disclose asymptomatic cases separately nor include them in confirmed cases. Also, patients who test positive again after discharge are not counted as new confirmed cases.

Despite criticisms of data manipulation, China, which believes the internal spread of COVID-19 is calming down, has opened some tourist sites that can promote domestic consumption, such as Beijing Zoo and the Great Wall, starting today. Zhu Zhengfu, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, China's top state advisory body, has proposed that, apart from sporadic consumer coupon distributions by local governments, cash payments of 2,000 yuan (about 350,000 KRW) per person be given to all 1.4 billion Chinese people to normalize the economy. The 2,000 yuan amount corresponds to the average monthly consumption expenditure per person in China last year and is similar to cash stimulus measures being considered in countries like the United States.

Hong Kong, which is on alert due to overseas imported cases, has decided on a strong measure to completely ban entry of foreign tourists. Hong Kong, which has recorded a total of 356 confirmed cases, reported 39 new cases yesterday, of which 30 were imported from overseas.

Starting from the 25th, Hong Kong will completely ban entry and transit of foreign tourists for 14 days. This is a stronger measure than the existing 14-day self-quarantine for all entrants. Entry is allowed for Hong Kong residents, mainland Chinese, Macao residents, and Taiwanese, but they must undergo 14 days of self-quarantine immediately upon entry. Those among them who have recently traveled overseas are banned from both entry and transit, just like foreigners.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.