Coronavirus News Highlights: China's Xi says 'Light of hope in front of us' on Covid

Starting January 1, seven days' home quarantine will be compulsory for international passengers from China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand arriving at the Bengaluru and Mangaluru international airports. State Health Department issued the circular on this on Saturday, based on recommendations made by the Covid Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) on Friday. Karnataka is currently the only state to implement this rule.

. Maharashtra on Saturday reported 30 fresh Covid-19 cases, taking the overall tally to 81,36,663, as per a health department report.

. A pre-departure RT-PCR negative test report will be mandatory from January 1, 2023 for passengers coming in all international flights from China, Singapore, Hong Kong, the Republic of Korea, Thailand and Japan.

Credit: PTI

. President Xi Jinping said Saturday the "light of hope is right in front of us" as China faces an explosion of Covid-19 cases after an abrupt lifting of restrictions.

"Epidemic prevention and control is entering a new phase... Everyone is working resolutely, and the light of hope is right in front of us," Xi said in a televised address for the New Year.

Credit: AFP

. New Year's Eve in China prompted an outpouring of reflection online, some of it critical, about the strict zero-Covidpolicy the country adhered to for almost three years.

China this month scrapped repeated mass testing, centralised quarantine for infected people, and lockdowns, the hallmarks of a policy aimed at eradicating all outbreaks of Covid-19.

The sudden change to live with the virus has prompted a wave of infections across the country, a drop in economic activity and international concern, with Britain and France the latest countries to impose curbs on travellers from China.

Credit: Reuters

. France, Spain and England will implement tougherCovid-19 measures for passengers arriving from China, authorities said Friday.

France's government is requiring negative tests, and is urging French citizens to avoid nonessential travel to China. France is also reintroducing mask requirements on flights from China to France.

French health authorities will carry out random PCR tests at airports on passengers arriving from China to identify potential new coronavirus variants. The new rules take effect on Sunday, but officials said it would be a few days before they are fully in place.(AP)

. France, Spain and Israel have become the latest to join a growing list of countries, including India, to tighten restrictions against travellers from China in the wake of the ongoingCovid-19 resurgence in the Asian giant.

In a statement on Friday, the French government said passengers flying from China would have to present a negativeCovid-19 test less than 48 hours old before departure, the BBC reported.(IANS)

. New Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 is estimated to account for 40.5 per cent ofCovid-19 cases in the US in the week ending December 31, nearly doubling from the previous week, according to data updated by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

XBB.1.5 made up 21.7 per cent of the total cases in the previous week ending December 24, Xinhua news agency reported.(IANS)

. China's factory activity contracted for the third straight month in December and at a sharper pace, official data showed on Saturday, weighed down by the spread ofCovid infections through production lines following Beijing's abrupt easing of anti-virus measures.(Reuters)

. France and Britain on Friday joined a growing list of nations imposingCovidtests on travelers from China, and the World Health Organization pressed Beijing to be more forthcoming on real-time data amid an explosion of cases there.

AFP

. The World Health Organization has again urged China to regularly share specific and real-time data on theCovid-19 situation in the country, amid a surge in coronavirus cases after Beijing relaxed its strict "zero-Covid" policy.

The global health agency has asked Chinese health officials to share data on genetic sequencing, hospitalisations, deaths and vaccinations.

PTI

Coronavirus News Highlights: China's Xi says 'Light of hope in front of us' on Covid

Seven days' home quarantine will be compulsory for international passengers from China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand

Maha logs 30 COVID-19 cases; active tally 164

RT-PCR negative test report must from Jan 1 for air travellers from China, 4 other countries

China's Xi says 'Light of hope in front of us' on Covid

China censors Covid-related content online as New Year's Eve prompts reflection by some

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