The repercussions of China’s surge in Covid cases could be seen in Milan, when on two flights from China half of the passengers have tested positive for COVID-19. According to Guido Bertolaso, Lombardy region’s health chief, 35 out of 92 passengers tested positive on one of the flights, while 62 passengers out of 120 were infected on the other one. The passengers affected by COVID-19 were isolated and contact tracing efforts have been set into motion.
Italy announced on Wednesday that tests would be required “for all passengers from China and in transit through Italy.”
China announced this week that incoming travellers would no longer have to quarantine from January 8, the latest major reversal of strict restrictions that have kept the country largely closed off to the world since the start of the pandemic. Experts have recently warned that China’s decision to lift its zero-Covid measures could create a “potential breeding ground” for new variants to emerge.
China’s hospitals are struggling to manage the situation with doctors working despite being infected and beds filled with dozens of elderly straining to breathe. The healthcare system is straining and crematoriums struggling to deal with the influx of bodies.
China’s National Health Commission (NHC) last week said that it would no longer release an official daily Covid death toll.
But with the end of mass testing -- and China’s decision to reclassify Covid deaths in a move analysts said would dramatically downplay the fatalities -- those numbers were no longer believed to reflect reality.
