China has temporarily banned entry to most British residents over the coronavirus, along with non-Chinese citizens of other nations showing higher infection rates. As COVID-19 begins cresting anew around the globe, China has banned travelers from the U.K., Belgium, India and the Philippines, as well as France.
“Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, China has decided to temporarily suspend entry into China by non-Chinese nationals in the U.K. holding visas or residence permits still valid at the time of this announcement,” the Chinese Embassy in the U.K. said in a statement.
The announcement comes as Britain descends into a second lockdown for the year, this one running four weeks and starting on Thursday. With more than a million cases and about 48,000 deaths, it’s among the hardest-hit countries in the world.
Similar statements came out of the embassies in Belgium, with the highest infection rate in Europe, and in the Philippines, which has confirmed the highest number of cases in southeast Asia. Deaths are spiking in both the U.K. and France, edging closer to springtime figures along with hospitalizations related to COVID-19.
The move goes hand-in-hand with tighter testing measures for people arriving from several other countries. The announcement caught British officials unawares. “We are concerned by the abruptness of the announcement and the blanket ban on entry, and await further clarification on when it will be lifted,” the British Chamber of Commerce in China said in a statement obtained by Reuters. Chinese officials called it a “temporary measure” based purely on changes in the course of the pandemic, and reemphasized that point on Thursday. “China has referred to the practices of many countries and adjusted its approach to relevant people coming to China based on changes in the pandemic situation,” Wang Wenbin, a spokesman for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. “This is reasonable and consistent with international practice, and I believe people can understand it.”
本时文内容由奇速英语国际教育研究院原创编写,未经书面授权,禁止复制和任何商业用途,版权所有,侵权必究!(作者投稿及时文阅读定制请联系微信:18980471698)