Category Archives: Coronavirus

Ministers yet to finalise Covid testing plans for travellers from China

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Officials confirm new policy for England will begin on Thursday but say they are still working on final details

Ministers are yet to set out details of a Covid testing regime for arrivals from China that comes into force this week, including whether it will apply to people flying from Hong Kong or to those who travelled to the UK indirectly from China.

Downing Street confirmed that people flying to the UK from China would need to take a Covid test before travelling, and would not be allowed to travel if they tested positive for the virus.

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Covid testing for China travellers ‘not an especially onerous requirement’, Chalmers says – as it happened

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Opposition calls on government to explain decision to implement restrictions on travellers arriving from China. This blog is now closed

China travel situation the ‘first test of the Albanese government’, Liberal MP says

The shadow assistant minister for mental health, Melissa McIntosh, is among those from the Coalition criticising Labor’s decision not to follow health advice on imposing conditions on travel from China.

The Coalition always supports the best interests of Australians and the safety of Australians ... Now I think this is really the first test of the Albanese government when it comes to pandemic management.

And it’s quite perplexing that on New Year’s Eve, the chief medical officer, Paul Kelly, sent a letter to the health minister, Mark Butler, stating he did not feel these restrictions on Chinese travellers were really required. And then a day later, the health minister has gone against the health advice, of the chief medical officer of this country, and imposed those restrictions. I think Australians very much deserve answers when it comes to the government’s decision, why did the government go against the chief medical officer’s advice and what’s the plan now they’ve implemented these restrictions?

One of the reasons why Australia got through the pandemic as one of the best countries in the world to do so was because we followed Australia’s medical advice. Australia’s medical advice. Not following other countries.

I think it’s really important we’re consistent in what we do as a nation ... when it comes to following the advice. And as I said, this is really a first test of the Albanese government. It’s leading people to be confused. Why would you have the chief medical officer say one thing, and the government ignore that, and do another?

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Paxlovid ‘last drug in the cupboard’ for Covid as variants in Australia evade other treatments

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New study finds most medications are ineffective against strains currently circulating but thankfully full vaccination still offers protection

The antiviral Paxlovid is the “last drug left in the cupboard” to treat people vulnerable to severe disease and death from Covid-19, a leading virologist says.

The message from Associate Prof Stuart Turville is particularly concerning given the variants circulating now are adept at evading antibodies.

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Migration to Australia set to rebound to pre-pandemic levels, report finds

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Covid travel restrictions resulted in 85,000 fewer people migrating to Australia in 2020-21, the first net loss since the second world war

Australia has lost 473,000 potential migrants as a result of Covid, but net inward migration is now on track to rebound to pre-pandemic levels of 235,000 people a year, the Centre for Population has found.

The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, said the centre’s 2022 statement, to be released on Friday, confirmed migration was “part of the solution” to skills and labour shortages.

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Australia imposed Covid checks on travellers from China against advice of top health official

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Prof Paul Kelly told Albanese government there was not ‘sufficient public health rationale’ for additional requirements targeting China

The Albanese government imposed pre-flight Covid checks on travellers from China against the advice of the chief medical officer, Prof Paul Kelly.

The 31 December advice, published by the health department, stated that Kelly did “not believe that there is sufficient public health rationale” for any additional requirements, labelling any restriction on travel from China “disproportionate to the risk”.

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Labor flags wastewater tests on inbound planes as mandatory Covid checks for China arrivals resumes

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Health minister defends country-specific testing as necessary due to ‘absence of comprehensive information’ on Covid’s spread in China

Australia is planning to introduce wastewater testing for incoming flights in an attempt to gather more information about the possible entry of new Covid variants.

The health minister, Mark Butler, announced the measure on Monday in a round of interviews defending the decision to reimpose pre-flight Covid testing for passengers from China as necessary because of a “absence of comprehensive information” about the disease in China.

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China’s President Xi battles to save face as Covid U-turn weakens his grip on power

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Despite public bullishness, overflowing hospitals across the country suggest its leader may have made a huge miscalculation

China’s leader Xi Jinping told his country it stands on “the right side of history” in a new year address on Saturday, but experts have warned that the president starts 2023 diminished by his chaotic U-turn on Covid strategy.

He may struggle to deflect blame for the human and economic costs of zero-Covid’s failure, and control the national narrative, even if public signs of dissent are crushed.

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Australia imposes mandatory Covid tests for travellers from China amid fears of diplomatic backlash

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Health minister Mark Butler argues decision ‘will not come as any surprise to the Chinese government’

Australia will impose mandatory Covid-19 testing for travellers arriving from China after a spike in cases in the tourism and business market.

The Australian health minister, Mark Butler, announced on Sunday that travellers from China would need to take a Covid test within the 48 hours before travel and show evidence of a negative result before entering Australia, starting from 5 January.

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Sunak’s U-turn on China Covid tests is a political move, say scientists

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Chief medical officer Chris Whitty told health secretary Steve Barclay there was no evidence tests on travellers would have any effect

Rishi Sunak’s decision to perform a U-turn and impose Covid checks on travellers from China was dismissed on Saturday night as a purely political manoeuvre that would make no difference to the rise or fall of cases in the UK.

The health secretary Steve Barclay was briefed by the chief medical officer Chris Whitty on Thursday and was told there was no clear evidence of significant benefits from testing travellers from China. The Observer has learnt that on the following day, Barclay discussed the issues with Sunak, who nevertheless decided it was more important for Britain to align itself with those nations – the US, Japan, Italy and Spain – that had already imposed such tests.

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Xi Jinping urges unity as China’s Covid fight enters ‘new phase’

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Chinese leader speaks of continuing struggles as thousands gather in Wuhan, epicentre of the pandemic three years ago

Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for more effort and unity as the country enters a “new phase” in its approach to combating the pandemic, in his first comments to the public on Covid-19 since his government changed course three weeks ago and relaxed its rigorous policy of lockdowns and mass testing.

In a televised speech to mark the New Year, Xi said China had overcome unprecedented difficulties and challenges in the battle against Covid, and that its policies were “optimised” when the situation and time so required.

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WHO urges Covid data ‘transparency’ as China prepares to open borders

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Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says WHO officials stressed to Beijing the importance of sharing data ahead of easing of travel restrictions on 8 January

The World Health Organisation again urged China’s health officials to regularly share specific, real-time information on the country’s Covid surge, as the UK joined other countries in bringing in travel restrictions, citing a lack of data as the reason.

WHO Covid experts met Chinese officials on Friday and “again stressed the importance of transparency and regular sharing of data to formulate accurate risk assessments and to inform effective response”, said the WHO chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

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China: another Covid wave expected in rural areas after lunar new year

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Many city workers heading home for holiday in late January are likely to take disease with them

China is preparing for another wave of Covid to hit its more vulnerable countryside in early 2023, as the current wave of infections overwhelms hospitals and intensive care units in many cities.

The lunar new year, China’s most important holiday, falls in late January. It offers a chance of reunion after years of separation under the harsh internal travel restrictions and lockdowns of the previous zero-Covid policy.

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China bridles as EU states prepare to scale up Covid monitoring

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France joins Spain and Italy in requiring arrivals to show a negative result with the UK to follow suit

European countries are preparing to scale up the monitoring of potential new coronavirus variants from China, as Spain and France brought back mandatory testing at airports in response to Beijing’s rapid rollback of anti-infection measures.

The two countries on Friday followed Italy’s lead by requiring arrivals from China to show a negative test result, though unlike Rome, Spain makes exceptions for those who can prove they are fully vaccinated.

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PM’s China dialogue comments ‘sneaky’, opposition says – as it happened

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This blog is now closed

Authorities to crack down on taxi and rideshare rip-offs

The Point to Point Commissioner is expecting a busy New Year’s period, after a “landslide of complaints” to the taxi industry hotline in the lead-up to the holiday period.

Businesses in the hospitality, tourism and retail industries heavily rely on a transport system that is safe, reliable and cost-effective to get Sydneysiders around our city.

If the system fails on delivering this service then people will not come into the city, which in turn will have an adverse knock-on effect on other businesses as a result.

Yes we have to continue to pursue them but the easiest way they could be resolved is by the Chinese government ending the sanctions on barley and wine. If they did that, then obviously, those disputes we no longer need to continue to take them – that would be the best thing that could occur, although I see no sign of that at the moment.

I see we’re dangling carrots out in front of the Chinese ... accession to CPTPP [Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership], which was something we never talked about, I see the new government is talking about it. This is very concerning – that they would offer access to that incredibly important trade arrangement to try and get the Chinese [government] to move.

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China Covid: experts estimate 9,000 deaths a day as US says it may sample wastewater from planes

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Infectious disease experts believe strategy more effective in slowing virus spread than new travel restrictions, as health data firm says thousands are likely dying daily in China

The United States is considering sampling wastewater taken from international aircraft to track any emerging new Covid-19 variants as infections surge in China, as UK-based health experts estimate about 9,000 people a days are now dying of the disease in China.

The proposed of testing wastewater by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would provide a better solution to tracking the virus and slowing its entry into the US than new travel restrictions announced this week, three infectious disease experts said.

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UK ministers under pressure to screen China arrivals for Covid

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Politicians and experts call for border testing to be introduced, but others question usefulness of move

Ministers are coming under pressure to screen arrivals from China as the number of Covid-19 cases there continues to surge after Beijing’s abrupt decision to end most of its strict pandemic restrictions.

The US became the latest country to impose controls on travellers entering the country from China on Wednesday, demanding that all such arrivals show proof of a negative Covid test.

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EU states resist joining Italy on Covid testing for arrivals from China

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Italy urges action at European level as more than 50% of recent arrivals from China test positive at Milan airport

Member states of the European Union have resisted pressure from Italy to immediately impose mandatory anti-Covid checks on travellers entering the borderless Schengen area from China, with health officials in Brussels saying they would instead continue to monitor the consequences of Beijing’s rapid rollback of its previously stringent hygiene restrictions.

In recent days more than 50% of passengers from China at Milan’s Malpensa airport have tested positive for the virus, and on Wednesday Italy brought back mandatory coronavirus tests for everyone arriving from China, after reports of rising infection rates in the world’s most populous country.

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Why did China relax its Covid policy – and should we be worried?

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After long pursuing a strict zero-Covid regime, restrictions have been lifted in China as new variants emerge

After long pursing a zero-Covid policy, China has relaxed many restrictions including quarantine rules for travellers. But some experts have raised concerns the U-turn may cause problems. We take a look at why.

What has happened in China?

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Rural China races to boost medical facilities ahead of expected Covid surge

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Poorly resourced regional hospitals brace for flood of cases during upcoming lunar new year holiday as infections soar

China’s sprawling and thinly resourced countryside was racing to beef up its medical facilities amid a surging Covid-19 wave as hundreds of millions of migrant factory workers prepare to return to their families for the lunar new year.

Each year, hundreds of millions of people, mostly working in factories near the southern and eastern coasts, return to the countryside for the lunar new year festivities, due to start on 22 January next year.

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US to require arrivals from China to provide negative Covid test

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Other countries including Italy have taken similar steps after Beijing’s rollback of ‘zero-Covid’ policies led to surge in cases

The US has announced all travellers from China must provide a negative Covid-19 test to enter the country, joining other nations imposing restrictions because of a surge of infections.

The increase in cases across China follows the rollback of the nation’s strict anti-virus controls. Beijing’s “zero Covid” policies had kept the country’s infection rate low but fuelled public frustration and crushed economic growth.

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