(Beijing) The Chinese government castigates countries that impose COVID-19 tests on passengers arriving from China and threatens to apply retaliatory measures against these countries, including Canada and the United States.
“We believe that the entry restrictions adopted by some countries targeting China lack scientific basis, and that some excessive practices are even more unacceptable,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Tuesday. of a daily briefing.
“We strongly oppose attempts to manipulate COVID measures for political purposes and will take countermeasures based on the principle of reciprocity,” she added.
Australia and Canada have joined a growing list of countries requiring travelers from China to take a COVID-19 test before boarding their flight. China is currently battling a nationwide coronavirus outbreak after abruptly easing restrictions that have been in place for much of the pandemic.
Canada will require a negative drug test starting next Thursday for all travelers on flights from China, Macau or Hong Kong. Last Saturday, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) clarified that this temporary measure would affect air travelers aged 2 and over who will have to present a negative result less than two days before their departure.
Other countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, India, Japan and several European countries, have announced stricter COVID-19 measures for Chinese travelers amid concerns about the lack of data on infections in China and the possibility of new variants of the coronavirus spreading.
China previously said that starting next Sunday, Jan. 8, overseas travelers would no longer need to self-quarantine upon arrival in China, paving the way for Chinese residents to travel.
Last Friday, representatives of the World Health Organization (WHO) met with Chinese officials to call on them to carry out regular sharing of specific and real-time data on the epidemiological situation so that other countries can respond appropriately. .