The United States is exploring entrance restrictions for Chinese visitors, as officials voice alarm about the country’s largest COVID-19 epidemic.
“There are mounting concerns in the international community on the ongoing COVID-19 surges in China and the lack of transparent data, including viral genomic sequence data, being reported from the PRC,” US officials said on Tuesday, local time, referring to the People’s Republic of China.
The lack of genomic data makes it “increasingly difficult for public health professionals to assure that they would be able to identify any potential novel variations and take quick measures to minimize the spread,” according to US officials.
The remarks came after Japan, India, and Malaysia tightened border controls in response to an increase in Chinese migrants.
Infections have increased across China after the country’s ultra-strict “zero-COVID” policy was lifted, prompting US authorities to express concern about the possibility of new strains spreading.
On Monday, Beijing announced that mandatory COVID quarantine for foreign visitors would be phased out beginning January 8, forcing many Chinese to rush to organize vacations abroad.
Beijing authorities have conceded that the outbreak is “difficult” to track and have eliminated much-maligned case tallies, as well as reducing the criteria used to record COVID fatalities.
While officials have officially documented only a few COVID deaths in recent weeks, hospitals and funeral homes in China have been overloaded as the virus spreads mostly unchecked across the 1.4 billion-person country.
Beijing’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday that countries should uphold “scientific and appropriate” disease controls that “should not affect normal personnel exchanges”.
