Tag: China

This unhappiness is because of the lax standards the Korean government has with Chinese entering South Korea compared to Chinese regional governments putting Koreans going to China in mandatory 14-day quarantines:

Public chagrin is growing over some Chinese provincial authorities’ forcible anti-coronavirus quarantine measures against South Koreans, fueling criticism of Seoul’s cautious immigration controls and strengthening calls for broader entry bans on Chinese visitors.

Despite Seoul’s entry ban limited only to China’s central Hubei Province at the center of the new coronavirus outbreaks, Weihai in the eastern Shandong Province and other regions have enforced unannounced quarantine steps against visitors from South Korea.

The measures came after Seoul embraced Beijing’s calls for a “scientific” decision in line with the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommendations against unnecessary travel restrictions and sent protective masks, goggles and other relief items to China in a show of unity in the fight against the virus outbreaks.

The containment move raised questions over Seoul’s hitherto cautious approach in dealing with Chinese travelers in the midst of a recent spike in the number of COVID-19 infections in South Korea, which has risen to 1,146.

“China has been consistent in its claim that travel restrictions should be made based on scientific grounds and WHO recommendations, while decrying strict entry restrictions by the United States and other countries,” Park Won-gon, professor of international politics at Handong Global University, said.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but the only thing I am surprised about is that people are surprised by the Chinese government’s duplicity on this issue.

This was a Chinese study, so like with any information coming from China be suspicious of its accuracy:

People with type A blood are more likely to catch coronavirus while those with type O seem more resistant, a preliminary study of about 2,000 patients in China showed. 

A team of Chinese researchers, led by Wang Xinghuan from the Centre for Evidence-Based and Translational Medicine at Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, conducted the study. 

They took blood group patterns of patients in Wuhan and Shenzhen and compared them to local healthy populations. They found that blood type A patients showed a higher rate of infection and tended to develop more severe symptoms.

In the general population, type O blood (34 percent) is more common than type A (32 percent). But in the infected, this was reversed, with type O people at 25 percent and type A at 41 percent. People with type O blood made up 25 percent of deaths in the research. Normally, people with type O blood account for 32 percent Wuhan’s population. 

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

If dogs can be infected with the coronavirus could they spread it as well?

A pet dog in Hong Kong has contracted COVID-19 from its owner in what could be the first known human-to-animal transmission, local health authorities said Wednesday.

The Pomeranian is now under quarantine after repeated tests confirmed a “low-level infection” of the virus, though it shows no symptoms of the disease, a spokesman for Hong Kong’s Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department said.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

It appears the Chinese propaganda apparatus is now beginning their inevitable shift to blaming foreign countries for spreading the coronavirus within China:

China reported an increase Tuesday in cases of the new coronavirus coming from abroad, as the country where the disease first emerged now worries about importing infections.

In total there have been 13 confirmed cases of the virus being imported to the mainland — all in Chinese nationals returning from overseas.

More than 3,100 people have died and over 90,000 have been infected worldwide.

The vast majority of cases are in China, but South Korea, Italy and Iran have emerged as the countries with the most cases outside the epicentre.

Eight Chinese nationals who worked in the same restaurant in Italy’s northern Lombardy region have tested positive for the virus in eastern Zhejiang province, according to the local government.

They flew home to China from Italy last week.

AFP

You can read more at the link, but I have little faith in the numbers being reported out of China. It seems pretty coincidental that once the markets started tanking and companies began considering pulling out of China that suddenly news turned good that the Chinese were getting the coronavirus under control. Now as new cases pop up the Chinese propaganda apparatus can blame its spread on foreigners.

Yes you read that right, China of all places is beginning to restrict the movement of Koreans that arrive in the country:

More than 50 countries have implemented travel bans or quarantine measures on travelers coming from South Korea as of Friday amid fear of the global spread of the new coronavirus. 

In an odd turn of events, they include China, the origin of the disease.

Korean travelers face particular uncertainties flying into China as provinces and cities implement unexpected quarantines. Some Koreans residing there are being shunned by neighbors in apartment complexes. 

In a matter of two days, Korea saw its number of coronavirus cases double to over 2,300 as of Friday. The spike comes as health authorities conduct extensive testing on members of a minor Christian sect, Shincheonji, who make up the majority of new cases, which are mostly in the Daegu and North Gyeongsang area. 

In contrast, Chinese figures are showing a decrease in its cases, with 327 new cases and 44 new deaths announced as of Friday morning. 

Despite the fact that the coronavirus originated in Wuhan, capital of Hubei Province, China has been tightening its border controls and quarantine measures against travelers coming from Korea since the beginning of the week. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but China is having many Koreans who arrive in China go into quarantine for 14 days including all from the Daegu area.

The Korean government is now advocating for Chinese students to not return to South Korea until after the coronavirus fears die down:

Education authorities of South Korea and China agreed to advise their students against returning to school in the other country as part of their cooperation to contain the spread of the new coronavirus, Seoul officials said Friday.

The move comes as the spread of the virus is showing little sign of easing in the two countries after it emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in late December.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.