China calls on travellers to reduce trips in bid to minimise Covid risk

China's transport ministry on Friday (January 6) called on travellers to reduce trips and gatherings, particularly if they involve small children, the elderly, pregnant women and those with underlying conditions. The government is seeking to minimise the possibility of a major new Covid outbreak during the Lunar New Year travel rush this month, a report by the Associated Press said.

Speaking to reporters, vice minister of transport Xu Chengguang said that people using public transport should wear masks and pay special attention to their health and hygiene.

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China is currently seeing an unprecedented surge in Covid infections, an overburdened healthcare system, a shortage of life-saving medicines and a low rate of vaccination among the elderly. In December last year, the government abruptly lifted the stringent restrictions of lockdowns, mass testing and quarantines.

On Sunday (January 8), the government will end compulsory quarantines for people arriving in China from abroad.

The present Covid outbreak in China is appearing to have spread the fastest in densely populated cities, the Associated Press report on Friday said. Government authorities are now worried about the possible spread of the virus to smaller towns and rural areas that lack medical resources such as ICU beds.

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Several rural residents are struggling to get access to doctors and medicines nearby. Yanzhong Huang, senior fellow for global health at the Council of Foreign Relations, told news agency AFP, on Friday that people dissatisfied with the poor quality of rural healthcare will bypass local providers to seek care in urban hospitals.

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Many countries have criticised China for not sharing enough details on the pandemic situation, particularly about the potential emergence of new Covid variants. On Wednesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that the current virus figures published by Beijing underrepresented the true impact of Covid in terms of hospitalisations and deaths.

A growing number of countries are also imposing mandatory virus testing requirements for arrivals from China, a move severely criticised by Beijing.

(With inputs from agencies)

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