Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD: Belgium, Germany, and Luxembourg have discouraged not-necessary travel to the world’s most populous nation, China as it has been struggling with the increasing Covid cases after relaxing virus curbs.
German foreign ministry took to Twitter on Saturday to state that they currently discourage non-essential visits to China. The reason is a surge in Covid infections and an overwhelmed health system.
Belgium, Luxembourg stance
Neighbouring Luxembourg and Belgium also followed suit. “Luxembourg is aligning itself with the German travel advisory and is currently advising against non-essential travel to China,” read a statement issued by Luxembourg foreign ministry.
The foreign ministry of Belgium said on its website that China has been experiencing its biggest wave of infections since December owing to the end of the zero-Covid policy. It said non-essential travel to China is not recommended for the time being in view of the risk of hospital overcrowding. Several countries have imposed new travel directives on travellers from China.
Several European Union countries including Italy, Germany, France, and Spain have already announced Covid test requirements on travellers coming from China. The US and Japan are among the non-European nations to have taken similar steps. Chinese authorities recently said the first wave of infections has hit a peak in cities including Tianjin and Beijing. But the end, still, seems far from near with the officials warning of a multi-pronged outbreak in the coming weeks.
Despite a rebound in infections, Chinese authorities have ended mandatory quarantines on arrival in China Sunday and allowed Chinese people to travel abroad again after three years of restrictions. China has condemned the imposition of Covid tests by some countries as “unacceptable” and threatened “countermeasures”.
