Health

Thailand has revoked a weekend-announced entrance regulation requiring visitors to present confirmation of a COVID-19 vaccine, its health minister stated on Monday, January 9, citing adequate immunization rates in China and worldwide. Anutin Charnvirakul and a panel of health specialists have decided to reverse the new regulation, which was published on Saturday, January 7 by aviation authorities in anticipation of …

A day after meeting with Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Ambassador Huang Xillian, Aklan officials and local government and business leaders in the country’s most popular tourist destination stated they anticipate the return of Chinese tourists on January 9. “We discussed the prospect of Chinese tourists returning in the near future. We are pleased with his arrival,” Malay Mayor Floribar …

Thailand is preparing for more visitors after China reopened its border on Sunday by requiring international passengers to show proof they are completely immunized against COVID before traveling to Thailand. According to a statement released on Saturday by the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT), beginning early on Monday, all international arrivals would need to show proof of vaccination or …

China is in negotiations with Pfizer Inc. to get a license that will allow domestic drugmakers to produce and market a generic version of the COVID-19 antiviral medicine Paxlovid in China, according to three sources cited by Reuters. Since late last month, China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) has been in charge of negotiations with Pfizer, according to one source …

Now that the border between Hong Kong and China has been reopened, Shanghai engineer Roy Wang has a pressing task: rekindling his long-distance love after a terrible separation. “So many arguments occurred between my girlfriend and I. It was quite difficult to manage,” Wang, 23, reported to AFP on Wednesday (Jan 4). His request to visit her the following day …

China may be reopening, with its millions of would-be tourists and other global travelers freed of nearly all Covid-19 restrictions, but many of the countries that had been waiting desperately for the return of all those lovely tourist dollars are now keeping a wary foot behind the door, if not slamming it shut. China has announced that it would eliminate …

Malaysian social media have reacted negatively to the impending return of Chinese visitors, with the public considering the possibilities of a revival of Covid-19 – fueled by potential new varieties – undermining the fragile economic recovery. Since China abandoned its zero-Covid policy in December, the virus has spread throughout the country’s vast population, whose vaccination rates are inconsistent. On Sunday, …

Malaysia announced on Friday that it will check all incoming tourists for fever and test the wastewater from planes arriving from China for COVID-19 as part of new steps to avoid an epidemic in response to China’s decision to relax its zero-tolerance COVID policy. Minister Zaliha Mustafa stated in a statement that the Ministry of Health is implementing precautionary measures …

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated on Thursday, December 29 that no changes will be made to Australia’s policies regarding the entry of Chinese passengers, despite actions taken by certain countries to mandate mandatory COVID-19 tests. Albanese said the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, “We will seek the right guidance from health specialists.” “At this moment, there has been no change to …

China’s two largest cities, Beijing and Shanghai, were inching closer to living with the COVID-19 virus on Monday, December 16. Millions have been infected with the virus around the country. After years of draconian anti-coronavirus restrictions, President Xi Jinping abandoned the country’s zero-COVID policy in response to protests and an escalating outbreak. After the first shock of the policy reversal …