<p lang="EN-US" paraeid="{e4feff92-3f17-4486-97fc-d8987347be2c}{54}" paraid="762982827" >China on Tuesday slammed the negative Covid result sought by various countries from passengers boarding flights from its territory and warned of a retaliatory response even as a top Shanghai doctor admitted that over 70 per cent of the population in the megacity may have been infected with the virus.&nbsp;</p>

<p lang="EN-US" paraeid="{7c406ed4-ffcf-40bd-a0d7-64ee42e3e1ab}{183}" paraid="146377611" >At least a dozen countries, including US, UK, Australia, and India, have mandated negative Covid results 48 hours prior the departure from China regardless of the vaccination status as a resurgent virus continues to wreak havoc.&nbsp;</p>

<p lang="EN-US" paraeid="{39cfa959-bbed-4a7b-97ba-a1c27d9ba3cc}{164}" paraid="771164343" >In a statement, the foreign ministry deemed the additional screening measure as "unacceptable", saying that it lacks "scientific basis".&nbsp;</p>

<p lang="EN-US" paraeid="{3f9335c8-cdae-47f1-bb8f-609ef7ff2947}{7}" paraid="462702775" >"Some countries have taken entry restrictions targeting only Chinese travellers," foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a regular briefing.&nbsp;</p>

<p lang="EN-US" paraeid="{3f9335c8-cdae-47f1-bb8f-609ef7ff2947}{88}" paraid="1671675317" >"This lacks scientific basis and some practices are unacceptable," she added, warning China could "take countermeasures based on the principle of reciprocity".&nbsp;</p>

<p lang="EN-US" paraeid="{e2553744-5948-4d7e-92dd-a18aa8a8b3b1}{132}" paraid="1729185822" >The recent outbreak has been marked by China's shift from 'zero-Covid' policy following a massive protest that rocked the country in December. &nbsp;</p>

<h2 lang="EN-US" paraeid="{3f9335c8-cdae-47f1-bb8f-609ef7ff2947}{185}" paraid="259556051" ><strong>'70% of Shanghai population infected' &nbsp;</strong></h2>

<p lang="EN-US" paraeid="{06866b76-1922-43c4-a004-19d531ce6ceb}{4}" paraid="1215857285" >A senior doctor at one of Shanghai's top hospitals has claimed that 70 per cent of the city's population may have already been infected with COVID-19, state media reported.&nbsp;</p>

<p lang="EN-US" paraeid="{06866b76-1922-43c4-a004-19d531ce6ceb}{240}" paraid="1688095321" >Chen Erzhen,&nbsp;vice-president at Ruijin Hospital and a member of Shanghai's COVID-19 expert advisory panel, has&nbsp;estimated that the majority of the city's 25 million people may have already been infected during the Covid surge.&nbsp;</p>

<h2><strong>Belgium to test waste water on airlines from Covid-hit China</strong></h2>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/belgium-to-test-waste-water-on-airlines-from-covid-hit-china-549042/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

<p lang="EN-US" paraeid="{0ca93262-35cd-4c0e-9dd5-ea8ae948ad15}{57}" paraid="1225605471" >"Now the spread of the epidemic in Shanghai is very wide, and it may have reached 70 per cent of the population, which is 20 to 30 times more than [in April and May]," he told Dajiangdong Studio, owned by the Communist Party mouthpiece People's Daily.&nbsp;</p>

<p lang="EN-US" paraeid="{8b10d2e0-8492-4f4b-b632-03d1d3cf3754}{177}" paraid="1071991519" >The doctor added that his hospital was seeing 1,600 emergency admissions daily, which is double the number prior to restrictions being lifted, with 80 per cent of them COVID-19 patients.&nbsp;</p>

<h2 lang="EN-US" paraeid="{66be8344-ffc6-4b9a-8ddd-fbbdeed70f90}{176}" paraid="1290338026" ><strong>Chinese media plays down severity&nbsp;</strong></h2>

<p lang="EN-US" paraeid="{e07d4b01-b805-420e-b2a7-428ff8301136}{79}" paraid="969416021" >Even as Covid cases continue to surge, several media outlets have been playing down the severity of the outbreak, despite the World Health Organisation (WHO) share specific and real-time information on the outbreak.&nbsp;</p>

<p lang="EN-US" paraeid="{7ff754bb-6af2-4570-90c2-969177554d8e}{180}" paraid="2025355733" >On Monday, China reported three new Covid deaths, taking its official death toll to 5,253 since the pandemic began.&nbsp;</p>

<p lang="EN-US" paraeid="{5bc814c1-c9b3-4731-af66-5214a142914d}{7}" paraid="955619608" >The People's Daily, the Communist Party's official newspaper, on Tuesday cited Chinese experts as saying that the illness caused by the virus was relatively mild.&nbsp;</p>

<p lang="EN-US" paraeid="{5bc814c1-c9b3-4731-af66-5214a142914d}{10}" paraid="1357019499" >"Severe and critical illnesses account for 3 per cent to 4 per cent of infected patients currently admitted to designated hospitals in Beijing," Tong Zhaohui, vice president of the Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, told the newspaper.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>WATCH WION LIVE HERE: </strong></p>

<p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="350" loading="”lazy”" src="https://www.wionews.com/live-tv/embed?autoplay=1&amp;mute=1" width="100%"></iframe></p>

<p lang="EN-US" paraeid="{0ca93262-35cd-4c0e-9dd5-ea8ae948ad15}{46}" paraid="1654718266" >&nbsp;</p>

<p lang="EN-US" paraeid="{e2553744-5948-4d7e-92dd-a18aa8a8b3b1}{118}" paraid="1431465126" >&nbsp;</p>

<p lang="EN-US" paraeid="{7c406ed4-ffcf-40bd-a0d7-64ee42e3e1ab}{89}" paraid="1643822972" >&nbsp;</p>


China on Tuesday slammed the negative Covid result sought by various countries from passengers boarding flights from its territory and warned of a retaliatory response even as a top Shanghai doctor admitted that over 70 per cent of the population in the megacity may have been infected with the virus.

China on Tuesday slammed the negative Covid result sought by various countries from passengers boarding flights from its territory and warned of a retaliatory response even as a top Shanghai doctor admitted that over 70 per cent of the population in the megacity may have been infected with the virus. At least a dozen countries, including US, UK, Australia, and India, have mandated negative Covid results 48 hours prior the departure from China regardless of the vaccination status as a resurgent virus continues to wreak havoc. In a statement, the foreign ministry deemed the additional screening measure as "unacceptable", saying that it lacks "scientific basis". "Some countries have taken entry restrictions targeting only Chinese travellers," foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a regular briefing. "This lacks scientific basis and some practices are unacceptable," she added, warning China could "take countermeasures based on the principle of reciprocity". The recent outbreak has been marked by China's shift from 'zero-Covid' policy following a massive protest that rocked the country in December. '70% of Shanghai population infected' A senior doctor at one of Shanghai's top hospitals has claimed that 70 per cent of the city's population may have already been infected with COVID-19, state media reported. Chen Erzhen, vice-president at Ruijin Hospital and a member of Shanghai's COVID-19 expert advisory panel, has estimated that the majority of the city's 25 million people may have already been infected during the Covid surge. Belgium to test waste water on airlines from Covid-hit China "Now the spread of the epidemic in Shanghai is very wide, and it may have reached 70 per cent of the population, which is 20 to 30 times more than [in April and May]," he told Dajiangdong Studio, owned by the Communist Party mouthpiece People's Daily. The doctor added that his hospital was seeing 1,600 emergency admissions daily, which is double the number prior to restrictions being lifted, with 80 per cent of them COVID-19 patients. Chinese media plays down severity Even as Covid cases continue to surge, several media outlets have been playing down the severity of the outbreak, despite the World Health Organisation (WHO) share specific and real-time information on the outbreak. On Monday, China reported three new Covid deaths, taking its official death toll to 5,253 since the pandemic began. The People's Daily, the Communist Party's official newspaper, on Tuesday cited Chinese experts as saying that the illness caused by the virus was relatively mild. "Severe and critical illnesses account for 3 per cent to 4 per cent of infected patients currently admitted to designated hospitals in Beijing," Tong Zhaohui, vice president of the Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, told the newspaper. WATCH WION LIVE HERE:

China warns of 'counter-measures' against countries seeking negative Covid test from flyers   

<p>Passengers from China now need to show negative COVID-19 results before boarding flights to the United States, the country’s Center&nbsp;for Disease Control and Prevention has announced.</p>

<p>The federal agency said that the Covid test needs to be done two days before flying and the proof of the negative test must be submitted to the airline before boarding.</p>

<p>The tests can be either a PCR test or an antigen self-test administered through a telehealth service.</p>

<p>The testing requirement is mandatory for people from mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau, and covers all passengers regardless of their nationality or vaccination status, the CDC said.</p>

<p>It also covers passengers flying from third-country gateways, including Seoul, Toronto and Vancouver. The test will be required if they have been in China over the last 10 days.</p>

<p>The new rules are scheduled to take effect on January 5.</p>

<h2><strong>Study: Existing Covid strains driving China surge</strong></h2>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/wion-pulse-study-existing-covid-strains-driving-china-surge-547483/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

<p>"CDC is announcing this step to slow the spread of COVID-19 in the United States during the surge in COVID-19 cases in the [People's Republic of China] given the lack of adequate and transparent epidemiological and viral genomic sequence data being reported from the PRC," the CDC said in a&nbsp;statement.</p>

<p>The testing requirement was scrapped in June, but the US continued to allow all foreign travellers provided they proved that they are fully vaccinated with the&nbsp;primary series&nbsp;of a COVID-19 vaccine.</p>

<p>The health officials said that the need to bring back testing requirements was because of deep concerns about China’s lack of transparency regarding the recent surge in cases, especially the absence of genome sequencing information that could help detect new strains of the coronavirus.</p>

<p>“We know these measures will not eliminate all risk or completely prevent people who are infected from entering the United States,” a federal health official told CNN.</p>

<p>“Still, taken together they will help limit the number of infected people and provide us an early warning about new variants.”</p>

<p>(With inputs from agencies)</p>

<p><strong>WATCH WION LIVE HERE: </strong></p>

<p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="350" loading="”lazy”" src="https://www.wionews.com/live-tv/embed?autoplay=1&amp;mute=1" width="100%"></iframe></p>


Passengers from China now need to show negative COVID-19 results before boarding flights to the United States, the country’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention has announced.

Passengers from China now need to show negative COVID-19 results before boarding flights to the United States, the country’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention has announced. The federal agency said that the Covid test needs to be done two days before flying and the proof of the negative test must be submitted to the airline before boarding. The tests can be either a PCR test or an antigen self-test administered through a telehealth service. The testing requirement is mandatory for people from mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau, and covers all passengers regardless of their nationality or vaccination status, the CDC said. It also covers passengers flying from third-country gateways, including Seoul, Toronto and Vancouver. The test will be required if they have been in China over the last 10 days. The new rules are scheduled to take effect on January 5. Study: Existing Covid strains driving China surge "CDC is announcing this step to slow the spread of COVID-19 in the United States during the surge in COVID-19 cases in the [People's Republic of China] given the lack of adequate and transparent epidemiological and viral genomic sequence data being reported from the PRC," the CDC said in a statement. The testing requirement was scrapped in June, but the US continued to allow all foreign travellers provided they proved that they are fully vaccinated with the primary series of a COVID-19 vaccine. The health officials said that the need to bring back testing requirements was because of deep concerns about China’s lack of transparency regarding the recent surge in cases, especially the absence of genome sequencing information that could help detect new strains of the coronavirus. “We know these measures will not eliminate all risk or completely prevent people who are infected from entering the United States,” a federal health official told CNN. “Still, taken together they will help limit the number of infected people and provide us an early warning about new variants.” (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE:

Passengers travelling from China to US now need to show negative Covid test

<p>Travelers to Sweden will no longer be required to show a negative COVID test before entering the country, the government said on Tuesday.</p>

<p>Sweden introduced rules for a recent negative COVID test on Dec. 28 last year in a bid to slow the spread of the more contagious Omicron variant. Since then, Sweden has repeatedly set new daily case records with Omicron now the totally dominant variant.</p>

<p>"Travelers are no longer considered to pose a particular risk of affecting the spread of Omicron in Sweden," the government said in a statement.</p>

<p>Sweden has recorded more than 20,000 new daily cases over the past few days, roughly double the previous record from earlier waves. The number of cases has put a strain on healthcare services but not to the same extent as before the vaccine rollout.&nbsp;</p>


Travelers to Sweden will no longer be required to show a negative COVID test before entering the country, the government said on Tuesday. Sweden introduced rules for a recent negative COVID test on Dec.

Travelers to Sweden will no longer be required to show a negative COVID test before entering the country, the government said on Tuesday. Sweden introduced rules for a recent negative COVID test on Dec. 28 last year in a bid to slow the spread of the more contagious Omicron variant. Since then, Sweden has repeatedly set new daily case records with Omicron now the totally dominant variant. "Travelers are no longer considered to pose a particular risk of affecting the spread of Omicron in Sweden," the government said in a statement. Sweden has recorded more than 20,000 new daily cases over the past few days, roughly double the previous record from earlier waves. The number of cases has put a strain on healthcare services but not to the same extent as before the vaccine rollout.

Sweden scraps demand for negative COVID test to enter country