TOKYO – Japan on Friday began requiring COVID-19 tests for all passengers arriving from China as an emergency measure increasing infections there as the Asian island nation faces its own rising case numbers and record-high deaths.
Japan on Thursday reported a record 420 new coronavirus deaths, a day after hitting an earlier daily record of 415 deaths, according to the health ministry.
The numbers are higher than daily deaths at the peak of an earlier wave in August when they surpassed 300. Experts say the reason for the recent increase is unclear but could be related to worsening chronic diseases in older patients.
Japan put into effect on Friday stricter border measures Earlier this week it was announced that the antigen test, which has already been carried out on arrivals suspected of having COVID-19, is now mandatory for all arrivals from mainland China. Those who test positive will be quarantined for up to seven days at designated facilities and their samples will be used for genome analysis.
The measures began before the New Year holidays, which were characterized by travel and parties. Direct flights between China and Japan will be limited to four major Japanese airports for now, government officials said.
Flights from Hong Kong and Macau will be allowed to land at three other airports – Hokkaido’s New Chitose Airport, Okinawa’s Naha Airport and Fukuoka Airport – provided there are no passengers who have been to mainland China within seven days of the flight.
Hong Kong authorities called the restrictions “unreasonable” and called on Japanese authorities to lift them. Before adding the three airports for flights from Hong Kong and Macau, authorities said 60,000 travelers and about 250 flights would be affected between December and January.
Tour operators in Hong Kong are scrambling to rearrange flights for their customers to minimize losses. Steve Huen Kwok-chuen, chief executive of travel agency EGL Tours, said his company was forced to cancel some tours after Japan initially decided to restrict flights from Hong Kong to just four Japanese airports. After Thursday’s policy change, its staff tried to call back the customers who had attended the canceled tours, but couldn’t get them all back.
About 500 customers who had planned a trip to Japan between late December and early January were lost, Huen said.
“After enduring three years, we figured there would be a silver lining,” he said. “But the restrictions meant we suffered some business losses.”
Japan earlier this year stopped requiring COVID-19 tests for participants who had at least three shots – part of the country’s cautious easing of measures after it virtually closed its borders to foreign tourists for about two years. This year’s holiday season is the first with no virus restrictions except for mask-wearing and testing recommendations.
The country is now reporting about 200,000 known cases every day.
At a meeting earlier this week, experts warned that the rapid spread of influenza this winter also has the potential to increase pressure on medical systems.
China recently rolled back anti-virus controls that kept the country isolated for almost three years and this week announced plans to do so Reissuance of passports and visas for foreign travel. This could send many Chinese abroad for the January Lunar New Year holiday, raising concerns about the potential spread of the virus.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said Friday China will continue to monitor virus mutations and share information, stressing the importance of a science-based approach.
“We hope Japan can view China’s COVID situation and adjust to our response policy correctly and objectively, and take science-based and reasonable measures to ensure normal cross-border exchanges between the two peoples,” he said.
World Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the body needed more information on the severity of the outbreak in China.
“Without comprehensive information from China, it is understandable that countries around the world are acting in ways that they believe can protect their people,” he said on Twitter on Friday. “In order to conduct a comprehensive risk assessment of the COVID-19 situation on the ground in China, the WHO needs more detailed information.”
India, Italy, South Korea and Taiwan have also reacted to the Chinese wave of infections and have requested virus tests for visitors from China. The United States said Wednesday it would be required Testing of all travelers from China from January 5th.
South Korea announced Friday that travelers from China will also be required to present negative PCR test results within 48 hours or rapid antigen tests within 24 hours of their departure from Jan. 5.
Starting Monday, all visitors from China will also be required to take PCR tests within a day of arriving in South Korea, said Jee Youngmee, commissioner of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. South Korea will also restrict the number of flights from China and limit short-stay visas for Chinese nationals, except for those entering for diplomatic, essential business or humanitarian reasons, at least until the end of February.
Thai authorities said they are considering requiring a negative virus test and other restrictions on travelers from China.
With the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, China stopped issuing visas for foreigners and passports for its own population.
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Associated Press writers Hyung-jin Kim in Seoul, South Korea and Kanis Leung and Zen Soo in Hong Kong contributed to this report.
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