Travel Eases In China As Flights Resumed From Xi’an

The famous Terracotta Museum located in Xian, which is also an important transportation hub connecting China to major destinations of 36 countries, has been disconnected from other parts of the country by restraining the flight operations.The spread of Covid infection has brought strict controls and restrictions in the city. 

Travel Eases In China As Flights Resumed From Xi’an

China has strictly imposed restrictions in several cities, including Xian, where Covid-19 cases are rising. The authorities are expecting the launch of new infections ahead of the Winter Olympics and the Chinese New Year holidays beginning February 1^st. To curb the infection, medical team workers are engaged to collect swabs for nucleic acid testing from city residents. 

The Provincial Health Commission of China has witnessed nine local asymptomatic carriers of Covid-19 and sixty-four new locally transmitted cases. Some cities with a million population have seen 2 cases of positive and for which officials are compelled to stop people from moving out of the city.

The city of Xian, lying at the northwest part is experiencing a lock for weeks with the number of Covid-19 cases on record. Around 42000 people are under quarantine duly affected by the pandemic.

All the international flight services from Xian’s international airport have been stopped alerting people about the cause of covid-19 infection spread due to patients who traveled in international flights from abroad.

However, the residents are not happy and heavily criticized the strict rules of Xian’s epidemic prevention policy. Some fatal severe incidents have been reported from local hospitals due to the negligence of health workers during the pandemic.

Flights to Beijing from a global hub known for small commodities have been suspended. The city of Wuhan, where the first case of Covid-19 has been detected, has put people under close monitoring. 

The Chinese government has adopted a zero-tolerance strategy to keep the virus out of the country and for which every infected person is kept isolated. Even access to Xian and out of Xian was kept suspended.  

The Chinese government has relaxed travel policy restrictions and started running commercial flights from Xian city. Passengers who wanted to avail flight routes to leave Xian need to produce a negative test report. People hailing from high-risk zone areas are kept away from the airport.

People from low-risk areas are allowed to go out of their homes to buy necessary items. The severe condition of the lockdown prompted people to complain about shortages of food items.

As a precautionary measure, government officials have requested less travel to faraway locations during the Lunar New Year. Despite government orders, workers from the restaurant industry lined up near Covid test centers to get tested before travel. However, a tourist visa to China is not permitted. 

All travelers need to be in quarantine for 14 days at locations designated by the government and during that period, travelers need to do follow-up testing. The change of location and quarantine of travelers are based on the infection severity of his destination.

Chinese people need to upload their test results in their WeChat App to get a green QR code with an “HS” mark. Moreover, a healthcare declaration form to be submitted before 24 hours or exiting or entering China.

The use of masks has been made mandatory in public places and during transportation. Some regions are high-risk zones, inter-travel is restricted in the area. The proof of NAT negative test is required when movement happens in or out of a high risk zone. 

The travelers traveling back to their own home must quarantine themselves for additional 7 days. On the 8^th day, an RT PCR test is to be conducted to confirm the status of infection and whether they have recovered or not.

Those with adverse RT PCR reports after 7 days must upload their result in the Air Suvidha portal and those who tested positive should submit their sample for genomic testing INSACOG Laboratory. The expenses for the Covid-19 test are to be borne by the traveler.