Chinese fleeing COVID-19 in China overwhelming SG's hospital infrastructure and resources

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Can't get panadol in China?
Buy up all the panadol supplies in Taiwan and Singapore
Can't get medical treatment and hospitalisation in China?
Flee to Singapore to get medical treatment and hospitalisation

The world fears a new China Covid-19 wave, ponders how to help Xi Jinping​

Beds set up at a fever clinic in a sports hall, amid the Covid-19 outbreaks, in Beijing on Dec 20, 2022. PHOTO: REUTERS

DEC 20, 2022

WASHINGTON – Officials and global health experts are anxiously watching a Covid-19 surge in China, worried a nation of 1.4 billion people is inadequately vaccinated and may not have the healthcare tools to treat a wave of illness expected to kill more than a million people through 2023.
Some US and European officials are struggling to figure out how, or if, they can help mitigate a crisis they fear will hurt the global economy, further constrain corporate supply chains and spawn new coronavirus variants of concern.
“We have made that point that we are prepared to help in any way they might find acceptable,” US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on Wednesday.
Advance preparation of the healthcare system, accurate and shared data collection, and open communication are all important to battling mass coronavirus infections, say health experts from countries outside China who struggled through their own Covid-19 waves. Many of those elements appear to be lacking in China, they say.
President Xi Jinping has long insisted that China’s one party-system is best suited to handle the disease, and that Chinese vaccines are superior to western counterparts, despite some evidence to the contrary.
Democratic governments find themselves in a difficult spot diplomatically, wanting to help stem a burgeoning crisis with global and domestic health and economic implications in a way that the Chinese government might be willing to accept.
“China’s vaccine nationalism is deeply tied to Xi’s pride… Accepting Western assistance would not only embarrass Xi, it would also pierce his oft-propagandised narrative that China’s governance model is superior,” said Mr Craig Singleton, deputy director of the China programme at the Foundation for Defence of Democracies.

​

European and US officials are conducting careful behind-the scenes talks with their Chinese counterparts, while issuing deliberately worded public statements intended to make clear that the ball is in Beijing’s court.

To ask or not to ask​

One area of potential Western assistance involves whether China would accept BioNTech’s updated mRNA vaccine designed to target currently circulating Omicron-related virus variants, which many experts believe is more effective than China’s shots.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz discussed the issue in a visit to Beijing in November, along with BioNTech chief executive Ugur Sahin.


But the United States and other Western countries are not openly encouraging China to accept Western-made mRNA vaccines, White House coronavirus response coordinator Ashish Jha told reporters on Thursday.
“We stand ready to help any country in the world with vaccines, treatments, anything else that we can be helpful with,” he said.

Beijing has said “institutional advantages” will help it get through the epidemic without foreign assistance, and China’s estimated Covid-19 death toll is still lower than the 1.1 million US deaths and Europe’s 2.1 million.
But US drugmaker Pfizer last week reached an agreement to export its Covid-19 antiviral treatment Paxlovid to China through a local company, saying it is working with all stakeholders to secure adequate supply.
“Whether China asks or not, as a citizen of Beijing, I welcome the attitude of the US government,” Mr Hu Xijin, former editor of party tabloid the Global Times, said on Twitter, adding that he hopes the US government will push Pfizer to lower Paxlovid’s price.

‘Risky situation’​

“We want China to get Covid right,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said earlier in December. “It’s in the interests of the Chinese people first and foremost, but it’s also in the interests of people around the world.”
US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signalled his worries last week.
“China faces a very challenging system in reopening,” he said, adding that its manufacturing, exporting and supply chain remain critical. “It’s a risky situation.”
Health experts outside China despair that it may be too late to stave off a tragedy.
“What do you do for a Category 5 hurricane when it’s an hour and a half offshore? If you haven’t done it by now, it’s too late,” said Mr Michael Osterholm, director of the Centre for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.
“This pandemic is just going to blow through (China) in the next weeks,” he said. “It’s unfortunate they didn’t think about this six or 10 months ago. They could have bought themselves time to be in a better position.” REUTERS

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

FairPrice, Guardian, Watsons limit sales of Panadol, Nurofen products amid higher demand​

The new policy limits FairPrice customers to buying only up to four units of Panadol and Nurofen products in any combination. ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH

Osmond Chia


DEC 24, 2022

SINGAPORE – FairPrice customers can buy up to only four units of Panadol and Nurofen products in any combination, following a spike in sales of fever, cold and flu medicine in the past week.
The policy kicked in on Thursday, and the supermarket chain put up notices to inform the public, said a spokesman on Friday.
Watsons customers are limited to a maximum of six Panadol products, the health retail chain said.
Guardian will also limit the purchase of Panadol and Nurofen to six boxes per customer from Saturday, said a spokesman for DFI Retail Group, which manages the pharmacy chain.
Urging customers to buy only what they need for personal use, the spokesman for FairPrice said: “Beyond this, we also offer alternative fever, flu and cold medication from comparable brands to ensure that the community has access to medicine and health-related products they need.”
Both Panadol and Nurofen are household names, and the medicine can be found in supermarkets and pharmacies.
Panadol manufacturer Haleon said it is “producing record quantities of Panadol” in its factories, adding that it is aware that retailers in Singapore may have seen a surge in demand.


A Haleon spokesman said: “Over the last few years, the demand for consumer health products to manage the symptoms of cold and flu, such as Panadol, has been unprecedented and unpredictable.
“Combined with challenges faced across all global supply chains, there may be times when consumers struggle to find the variant of Panadol that they prefer. We sincerely regret the impact this disruption may have... ”
The Ministry of Health said on Wednesday that the greater demand for medication may result in a longer time needed to restock some brands. It added that the public should also consider choosing medicine from alternative manufacturers.
Most retailers carry a diverse range of brands for each type of medicine, said the ministry. It added that they include generic medicine, which is “just as effective as branded medicines”.
Most shelves were well stocked with Panadol, Nurofen and other brands selling similar pills, according to checks by The Straits Times at supermarkets and pharmacies in Jurong West, Choa Chu Kang and Farrer Park. Customers were orderly, with no signs of a rush to buy the pills.
A few retailers had low stocks or had run out of the two brands. Notices about the purchasing limit were also displayed.

It was reported on Dec 16 that some buyers in Singapore were seen lining up at local couriers to send medical supplies abroad amid a surge in Covid-19 cases in China, which has led to pharmacies there running out of supplies.
Electronics saleswoman Cherry Deng, 29, said she was pleasantly surprised to find Panadol fully stocked at Mustafa Centre in Little India. She popped by there after work to buy some medicine before her flight back home to Shenzhen on Friday evening. Ms Deng, who had a box of Panadol in her hand, said: “Most of the supplies for flu and fever in Shenzhen are sold out. Some of my workplace friends and family members have been down with fever, so I want to bring some home, just in case.”
Administrator Adeline Leow, 60, picked up three boxes of Panadol while on her grocery run at Mustafa. She said: “I was in a taxi coming here and I heard over the radio that some shops were setting limits on how many (Panadol) boxes we can buy. My daughter also mentioned that it was sold out in some places.
“So, it is just nice that I was coming here and saw there was stock. We don’t have any Panadol left at home anyway.”

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

First flight from S’pore to Beijing on Dec 30, more such flights on SIA in coming months​

A ticket for a round trip that leaves for Beijing on Dec 30 and returns to Singapore on Jan 10 costs $2,789. PHOTO: REUTERS

Nadine Chua

Dec 26, 2022

SINGAPORE – Travellers looking to visit Beijing can soon do so via a Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight from Friday.
It will be the first time a passenger flight is heading to the Chinese capital from Singapore since the pandemic disrupted travel in 2020.
After close to three years, the national carrier is reinstating its Singapore-to-Beijing passenger service on Fridays, on a fortnightly basis. This comes three months after SIA reinstated flights from Beijing to Singapore on Sept 27. These flights operate every Tuesday and Friday.
Flight services between Singapore and Beijing were suspended on March 28, 2020, at the height of the pandemic.
Checks by The Straits Times on Monday showed that an economy ticket from Singapore to Beijing this Friday with the return flight next Tuesday costs $4,053.
A ticket for a round trip that leaves for Beijing this Friday and returns to Singapore on Jan 10 costs $2,789.
SIA also operates flights to and from Shanghai on Mondays and Saturdays.

A check showed that a round-trip flight that departs for Shanghai this Saturday and returns to Singapore in the second week of January costs up to $5,791.
An SIA spokesman said it also has flights to and from Chongqing, Shenzhen, Chengdu and Xiamen, but it has not resumed flight services to and from Guangzhou.
“We will continue to monitor the travel demand and work closely with local authorities to gradually resume passenger flight services between Singapore and mainland China where feasible. China is an important market for the SIA Group, and we will be ready when the Chinese government further opens up to international air travel,” said the spokesman.

Checks by The Straits Times on Monday show that a round trip ticket from Singapore to Beijing costs $4,053. PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM SINGAPORE AIRLINES WEBSITE
In December, China did away with its zero-tolerance policy towards Covid-19, including abolishing its rules on snap lockdowns, lengthy quarantines and travel curbs.
This led to a sharp surge in cases across China, made worse by the highly transmissible Omicron variant circulating in its cities.
On Sunday, China’s National Health Commission (NHC), which for the past three years had published daily Covid-19 case figures for the country, said it would no longer release such data.
The NHC’s halt in reporting daily infection numbers and deaths comes as concerns grow around the lack of vital information about China’s fight against Covid-19.
Independent analyst Brendan Sobie of Sobie Aviation said flights between China and Singapore are now at about 10 per cent of pre-Covid-19 levels.
“While this is an improvement compared with a few months ago when it was at just 3 per cent, we still have a long way to go,” he said.
“The green light to finally carry passengers from Singapore to Beijing is just one small step that follows other small steps, including the resumption of passenger flights from Beijing to Singapore in September and the opening up of other China-Singapore routes,” he added, noting that flights to the nation’s capital are symbolically important.

Mr Mayur Patel, head of Asia at global travel data provider OAG Aviation, said the move to reinstate flights between both countries is an important strategic decision as China is an important trading partner for Singapore.
“I see it as baby steps and a measured approach to the broader reopening that China is working on. Some flights between China and the rest of the world have been reinstated, so it is significant that Singapore makes a move to ensure that its connectivity with China is restored,” he said.
Mr Jeremiah Wong, senior marketing communications manager at Chan Brothers Travel, said the travel agency has received inquiries from keen travellers asking when China will reopen for tourism.
“But since China still is not open for leisure travel, the new passenger flights will likely serve returning Chinese nationals or residents, and passengers travelling for official duties and business,” he said.
Mr Patel said: “Those booking flights from Singapore to China are probably those with family there and who want to see them after close to three years.”
He added: “Even if China opens up for tourists, I don’t think people would be rushing there any time soon, based on the current wave that’s happening.”
Transport economist Walter Theseira, an associate professor at the Singapore University of Social Sciences, said the timeline for the recovery of travel is unpredictable as there are typically teething problems early on.
These could include tourism infrastructure in China that needs to be re-established and travel companies there that have gone out of business during the pandemic.
“But barring non-pandemic issues such as geopolitical tensions, I fully expect that China-Singapore people movements will return to their pre-pandemic state,” he said.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Jubilant Chinese plan trips abroad as inbound Covid-19 quarantine set to end​

China said from Jan 8 inbound travellers would no longer be required to quarantine upon arrival. PHOTO: REUTERS
UPDATED

Dec 27, 2022

BEIJING - People in China reacted with joy and rushed to book flights overseas on Tuesday after Beijing said it would scrap mandatory Covid-19 quarantine for overseas arrivals, ending almost three years of self-imposed isolation.
In a snap move late on Monday, China said that from Jan 8, inbound travellers would no longer be required to quarantine upon arrival, in a further unwinding of stringent Covid-19 controls that had torpedoed its economy and sparked nationwide protests.
On Tuesday, the country’s immigration authority said it would resume issuing visas for mainland residents to travel overseas from Jan 8.
Cases have surged nationwide as key pillars of the containment policy have fallen away, with authorities acknowledging the outbreak is “impossible” to track and doing away with much-maligned official case tallies.
Beijing also narrowed the criteria by which Covid-19 fatalities are counted last week, a move experts said would suppress the number of deaths attributable to the virus.
Still, Chinese social media users reacted with joy to the end of restrictions that have kept the country largely closed off to the outside world since March 2020.
One top-voted comment on the Weibo platform proclaimed: “It’s over...spring is coming.”
“Preparing for my trip abroad!” wrote another user of the Twitter-like site. A third wrote: “I hope the price of the return ticket doesn’t rise again!”
Online searches for flights abroad surged on the news, state media reported, with the travel platform Tongcheng seeing an 850 per cent jump in searches and a tenfold jump in inquiries about visas.
Rival platform Trip.com Group said the volume of searches for popular overseas destinations rose by 10 times year-on-year within half an hour of the announcement. Users were particularly keen on trips to Macau, Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand and South Korea.

Residents of Hong Kong also flooded the Internet to search for flights to key mainland cities.
Outbound searches for flights from Hong Kong to the mainland on Trip.com and Ctrip, the two sub-brands of Trip.com Group, jumped around 521 per cent late on Monday evening versus the same time a week ago on Dec 19.
The top five destinations were Shanghai, Beijing, Hangzhou, Chengdu, and Nanjing, with search traffic up 1,039 per cent for financial hub Shanghai, and 718 per cent for capital Beijing.
Searches for Hangzhou, Chengdu, and Nanjing rose 662 per cent, 399 per cent and 411 per cent, respectively.
“Travel from abroad to China can only go up,” Mr Mike Arnot, an airline industry commentator and spokesman for aviation analytics company Cirium, said. “Flights to China by the world’s major airlines are down more than 92 per cent in December compared to December 2019.”
Carriers including British Airways, United Airlines Holdings and Qantas Airways stopped flying to China entirely during the pandemic and it “will take some time to rebuild their schedules”, Mr Arnot said.
Those airlines that have restarted services to Hong Kong should benefit from higher load factors on their existing flights to the city, which is a major hub for connections to China, he added.
The announcement effectively brought the curtain down on a zero-Covid regime of mass testing, strict lockdowns and long quarantines that has roiled supply chains and buffeted business engagement with the world’s second-largest economy.
“The overwhelming view is just relief,” said Mr Tom Simpson, managing director for China at the China-Britain Business Council. “It brings an end to three years of very significant disruption.”
An uptick in international trade missions is now expected for next year, he told AFP, although the full resumption of business operations is likely to be “gradual” as airlines slowly bring more flights online and companies tweak their China strategies for 2023. Nonetheless, the announcement was “very, very welcome”, Mr Simpson said.
Still, not all receiving countries are reciprocating with similarly open borders.
Japan will require a negative Covid-19 test upon arrival for travellers from China due to the rapid spread of the virus in the country, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Tuesday.
Travellers from China who test positive will be required to quarantine for seven days, he told reporters, adding that the new border measures for China will go into effect from midnight on Dec 30. The government will also limit requests from airlines to increase flights to China, he said.
India is also making PCR tests mandatory for international passengers coming from China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand.
Cases have surged nationwide following China’s easing, in an outbreak that the authorities have admitted is now impossible to track.
And in the face of mounting concerns that the country’s wave of infections is not being accurately reflected in official statistics, Beijing’s National Health Commission (NHC) on Saturday said it would no longer publish daily tallies of the number of cases.
That followed a decision last week to narrow the criteria by which Covid-19 fatalities were counted – a move that experts said would suppress the number of deaths attributable to the virus.
The winter surge comes ahead of two major public holidays in January - New Year’s Day and the Spring Festival. Millions of people are expected to travel to their hometowns to reunite with relatives for the Spring Festival, or the Chinese New Year.
Meanwhile, hospitals and crematoriums across the country have been overflowing with Covid-19 patients and victims, with studies estimating around one million people could die over the next few months.
China reported one new Covid-19 death in mainland for Dec 26, compared with no deaths a day earlier, the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention said on Tuesday. The death toll was increased to 5,242.

Major cities are now grappling with shortages of medicine, while emergency medical facilities are strained by an influx of undervaccinated elderly patients.
Beijing has insisted throughout the wave of infections that the country is prepared to weather the storm – and urged people to take responsibility for their own health.
“We need the public to properly protect themselves, continue to cooperate with the implementation of relevant prevention and control measures,” Dr Liang Wannian, an epidemiologist and the head of an expert group at the NHC tasked with responding to the Covid-19 pandemic, told state news agency Xinhua.
“We need to shift the focus of our work from infection prevention and control to medical treatment.”
But that has also led to concerns about the quick return to normal life.
“Domestic infections are still rising,” one Weibo user wrote. “Isn’t it obviously trying to get everyone infected,” the person asked, referring indirectly to the government.
Another Internet user wrote about a neighbour who died and a rumour that coffins were in short supply. “This is the result of opening up,” the person wrote. “Why must we open up? Why can’t we consider the vulnerable groups first?” AFP, BLOOMBERG, REUTERS

 

[syed putra]

Welcome!

 

[mojito]

See how State Times and western media all ways criticize China for zero covid. Now xi reversed course they criticized the CCP again. Truly nothing can please these publicists for the globalist cabal.

 

[tanwahtiu]

See how State Times and western media all ways criticize China for zero covid. Now xi reversed course they criticized the CCP again. Truly nothing can please these publicists for the globalist cabal.

Western media can only kpkb in West home ground, try go China soil to do the same they get arrested and like LKY style will sue the media...

 

[saynotomsm]

2020 fear mongering all over again.

 

[congo9]

CCP is really the cancer for China as a country.

 

[congo9]

CCP is really the cancer for China as

See how State Times and western media all ways criticize China for zero covid. Now xi reversed course they criticized the CCP again. Truly nothing can please these publicists for the globalist cabal.

If China had responsible with their action and follow. They should not have open up and infected everyone without any preparation before hand.

 

[Leongsam]

It's a pretty minor virus so there is nothing to be worried about. Some will die but most will survive.

 

[syed putra]

It's a pretty minor virus so there is nothing to be worried about. Some will die but most will survive.

Nowadays, get mild sickness, they will force you to be tested.like a leper.

 

[realDonaldTrump]

FairPrice, Guardian, Watsons limit sales of Panadol, Nurofen products amid higher demand​

The new policy limits FairPrice customers to buying only up to four units of Panadol and Nurofen products in any combination. ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH

Osmond Chia


DEC 24, 2022

SINGAPORE – FairPrice customers can buy up to only four units of Panadol and Nurofen products in any combination, following a spike in sales of fever, cold and flu medicine in the past week.
The policy kicked in on Thursday, and the supermarket chain put up notices to inform the public, said a spokesman on Friday.
Watsons customers are limited to a maximum of six Panadol products, the health retail chain said.
Guardian will also limit the purchase of Panadol and Nurofen to six boxes per customer from Saturday, said a spokesman for DFI Retail Group, which manages the pharmacy chain.
Urging customers to buy only what they need for personal use, the spokesman for FairPrice said: “Beyond this, we also offer alternative fever, flu and cold medication from comparable brands to ensure that the community has access to medicine and health-related products they need.”
Both Panadol and Nurofen are household names, and the medicine can be found in supermarkets and pharmacies.
Panadol manufacturer Haleon said it is “producing record quantities of Panadol” in its factories, adding that it is aware that retailers in Singapore may have seen a surge in demand.


A Haleon spokesman said: “Over the last few years, the demand for consumer health products to manage the symptoms of cold and flu, such as Panadol, has been unprecedented and unpredictable.
“Combined with challenges faced across all global supply chains, there may be times when consumers struggle to find the variant of Panadol that they prefer. We sincerely regret the impact this disruption may have... ”
The Ministry of Health said on Wednesday that the greater demand for medication may result in a longer time needed to restock some brands. It added that the public should also consider choosing medicine from alternative manufacturers.
Most retailers carry a diverse range of brands for each type of medicine, said the ministry. It added that they include generic medicine, which is “just as effective as branded medicines”.
Most shelves were well stocked with Panadol, Nurofen and other brands selling similar pills, according to checks by The Straits Times at supermarkets and pharmacies in Jurong West, Choa Chu Kang and Farrer Park. Customers were orderly, with no signs of a rush to buy the pills.
A few retailers had low stocks or had run out of the two brands. Notices about the purchasing limit were also displayed.

It was reported on Dec 16 that some buyers in Singapore were seen lining up at local couriers to send medical supplies abroad amid a surge in Covid-19 cases in China, which has led to pharmacies there running out of supplies.
Electronics saleswoman Cherry Deng, 29, said she was pleasantly surprised to find Panadol fully stocked at Mustafa Centre in Little India. She popped by there after work to buy some medicine before her flight back home to Shenzhen on Friday evening. Ms Deng, who had a box of Panadol in her hand, said: “Most of the supplies for flu and fever in Shenzhen are sold out. Some of my workplace friends and family members have been down with fever, so I want to bring some home, just in case.”
Administrator Adeline Leow, 60, picked up three boxes of Panadol while on her grocery run at Mustafa. She said: “I was in a taxi coming here and I heard over the radio that some shops were setting limits on how many (Panadol) boxes we can buy. My daughter also mentioned that it was sold out in some places.
“So, it is just nice that I was coming here and saw there was stock. We don’t have any Panadol left at home anyway.”

We still have panadols in Singapore retail market, just sold for much higher prices and retailers told to release them in batches to prevent hoarding.

However, I also came to know that Colimix is also in very low supply this month, lower than paracetamol. how come? China buying them up again?

 

[SheRa]

Please faster cum SG, we need your $$$$$$$$$$...

 

[mahjongking]

whatever happens around the world, peesai is fucked.
all the million dollars parasites already have overseas luxurious properties.... keep voting them in please

 

[laksaboy]

Certain bak kut teh restaurants will be happy again. Back in the day they were always swamped with Tiong tourists during lunchtime.

 

[congo9]

BKT?
Isn't it no good?

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Chinese hospitals 'extremely busy' as Covid-19 spreads unchecked​

Medical workers attend to patients at the intensive care unit of the emergency department at Beijing Chaoyang hospital. PHOTO: REUTERS

Dec 28, 2022



CHENGDU - Chinese hospitals were under intense pressure on Wednesday as a surging wave of Covid-19 infections strained resources in the last major country to move towards treating the virus as endemic.
In an abrupt change of policy, China earlier this month began dismantling the world’s strictest Covid-19 regime of lockdowns and extensive testing, putting its battered economy on course for a complete re-opening next year.
The move, which came after widespread protests against the restrictions, means Covid-19 is spreading largely unchecked and likely infecting millions of people a day, according to some international health experts.
The speed at which Covid-19 rules have been scrapped has left China’s fragile health system overwhelmed and prompted countries around the world, which have long been living with the virus, to consider travel restrictions for Chinese visitors, given questions about official data coming out of Beijing.
China reported three new Covid-related deaths for Tuesday, up from one for Monday – numbers that are inconsistent with the experience of much less populous countries after they re-opened.
Staff at Huaxi, a large hospital in the south-western Chinese city of Chengdu, said they were “extremely busy” caring for patients with Covid-19, as they have been ever since curbs were eased on Dec. 7.
“I’ve been doing this job for 30 years and this is the busiest I have ever known it,” said one ambulance driver outside the hospital who declined to be named.

There were long queues inside and outside the hospital’s emergency department and at the adjacent fever clinic on Tuesday evening. Most of those who arrived in ambulances were given oxygen tanks to assist with their breathing.
“Almost all of the patients have Covid-19,” one emergency department pharmacy staff member said.
The hospital has no stocks of Covid-specific medicine and instead can simply provide drugs for specific symptoms such as coughing, she added.

Dr Zhang Yuhua, an official at the Beijing Chaoyang Hospital said patients who have come in recently are mainly the elderly and critically ill with underlying diseases. She said the number of patients receiving emergency care had increased to 450-550 per day, from roughly 100 before, according to state media.
Pictures published by state-run China Daily showed rows of mostly elderly patients, some breathing through oxygen tubes, receiving treatment from medical staff in white hazmat suits inside the hospital’s intensive care unit.
Official statistics, however, showed only one Covid-19 death in the seven days to Monday. International health experts predict at least 1 million Covid-19 deaths in China next year.
In a major step towards freer travel, China will stop requiring inbound travellers to go into quarantine from Jan 8, authorities said this week, prompting many Chinese, cut off from the world for so long, to check travel platforms.
But while online searches for flights spiked on Tuesday from extremely low levels, residents and travel agencies suggested a return to anything like normal would take some months yet, given worries about Covid-19 and more careful spending because of the impact of the pandemic.

Moreover, some governments were considering extra travel requirements for Chinese visitors.
US officials cited “the lack of transparent data, including viral genomic sequence data,” as reasons for doing so.
India and Japan would require a negative Covid-19 test for travellers from mainland China, with those testing positive in Japan having to undergo a week in quarantine. Tokyo also plans to limit airlines increasing flights to China.
When asked about the extra travel requirements imposed by Japan and India, a spokesman for China’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday “Covid-19 measures should be scientific, moderate and should not affect the normal flow of individuals”.
China’s US$17 trillion (S$22.9 trillion) economy is expected to suffer a slowdown in factory output and domestic consumption in the near future, as workers and shoppers fall ill.
News of China re-opening its borders sent global luxury stocks higher, but the reaction was more muted in other corners of the market, as the world’s second-largest economy is likely to face subdued global demand in 2023.
US carmaker Tesla plans to run a reduced production schedule at its Shanghai plant in January, extending the restricted output it began this month into next year, according to an internal schedule reviewed by Reuters. Tesla did not specify a reason for the production slowdown in its output plan.
Once the initial shockwave of infections passes, some economists expect Chinese growth to bounce back with a vengeance from what is this year expected to be its lowest rate in nearly half a century, somewhere around 3 per cent.
Morgan Stanley economists expect 5.4 per cent growth in 2023, while those at Goldman Sachs see 5.2 per cent. REUTERS

 

[realDonaldTrump]

Just in - Singapore still welcomes them
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/sin...gapore-border-covid19-rules-unchanged-3170966

money more important

 

[oliverlee]

If you are so easily infected yet fully vaxxed, then it’s your brain that needs treatment not your immunity