Chinese tourists might be pretty hot stuff upon arrival

12-29-2022 Flights arriving in Milan this week were already testing passengers from China. Authorities found 52% of passengers were infected with Covid on one flight that landed on 26 December. Initial tests of Covid-positive travellers arriving from China showed that 15 of them had Omicron variants that were already present in Italy, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said. She described the news as quite reassuring. Italy is one of 26 European countries in the border-free Schengen zone and Ms Meloni is calling for EU-wide testing of Chinese passengers, arguing that Italy's own measures might otherwise be ineffective. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-64111492 ……………………………… Mr. Pompeo believes the world should go one step further and ban Chinese travellers altogether. "There is no reason we should allow the Chinese to do this again, to send Chinese-infected persons around the world, knowingly infecting people all across the globe," he told Cats Roundtable host John Catsimatidis. https://au.news.yahoo.com/infect-us-all-wild-claim-as-chinese-tourists-to-return-to-australia-210918258.html  ……………………………. Like Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, Thailand announced that inbound travelers from China wouldn’t need pre-departure COVID tests despite a steep rise in infections in their country. These Southeast Asian countries, longtime magnets for Chinese tourist dollars, are bidding to revive their pandemic-battered economies. After a meeting of health, tourism and other officials, Thai Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul told reporters that everyone must wear face masks in crowded places. “Thailand will not require COVID test results from tourists from any country. …This is an opportunity to restore our economy and recover from losses we suffered for nearly three years,” he said. “[T]here will not be any discrimination against a particular country because COVID-19 is spreading in all countries and the strains are similar. So it should not be an issue of discriminating against any country.” Thailand will however reinstate a requirement that travelers have at least two COVID-19 vaccination jabs and health insurance to meet treatment costs if they get infected.… Last week Malaysia said it would screen all incoming travelers for fever and test wastewater on flights arriving from China. Those with high fevers, or who are experiencing respiratory illnesses or have COVID-19 symptoms will be sent to quarantine centers or to health officials for additional testing. Sabah which, along with Sarawak, has more autonomy than other Malaysian states, however broke from the federal government’s COVID traveler policy. Located on Borneo island and a popular destination for Chinese tourists, Sabah decided that starting on Jan. 8, travelers from China need to be fully vaccinated. They also would need to show proof of a negative COVID test within 48 hours before their departure abroad. https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/tourism-01052023152641.html …………………… seconds)  COVID infected Chinese tourist caught in South Korea after fleeing quarantine center A growing number of Chinese visitors to South Korea have tested positive for COVID-19 By Michael Lee | Fox News Fox News medical contributor Dr. Marc Siegel discusses the Biden administration's move to require all travelers from China to provide a negative COVID test. South Korean police caught up to a Chinese man who escaped the country's mandatory quarantine upon testing positive for COVID-19 on arrival. The man, who was described by police as in his 40s, disappeared after testing positive for COVID-19 upon arrival at Incheon Airport on Tuesday and managed to evade South Korean police until he was caught at a hotel on Thursday, according to Reuters. "The person was found at a hotel in Seoul this afternoon," a police officer said. SOUTH KOREA TO MANDATE CORONAVIRUS TESTS FOR TRAVELERS FROM CHINA The quarantine escape comes after South Korea joined several other countries around the world in requiring travelers from China to undergo a PCR test after China's decision to abandon its "zero-COVID" policy as cases continue to rise in the country. South Korea also restricted short-term visas for Chinese nationals until the end of next month and limited flights coming in from China to just Incheon International Airport, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo announced earlier this week. Travelers who test positive for COVID-19 are subject to a mandatory quarantine period, part of the policy the Chinese passenger was temporarily able to avoid. He was put on a wanted list after he allegedly ran away while awaiting admission to quarantine, and he could face charges under South Korea's disease control law.  South Korea has seen hundreds of Chinese travelers attempt to enter the country while testing positive for COVID-19 since earlier this week. South Korea has had 4,113 people arrive from China since Monday, with 239 of 917 test results showing positive. On Wednesday, 31.5% of the 327 passengers tested were positive for COVID-19. https://www.foxnews.com/world/covid-infected-chinese-tourist-caught-south-korea-after-fleeing-quarantine-center ///////////////////////////////