This Sunday, the Great Wall of Covid quarantine in China finally will be lifted, with millions of Chinese travellers set to make their first overseas trip in three years after an outbound travel ban that has been in place since January 2020.
The return of Chinese tourists should have been good news for the tourism sector. Of course, the government and Thais must handle all foreigners with equal respect, without discrimination. Yet the government must remain active in monitoring Covid-19 infections in China and be quick to adjust Covid policy accordingly.
The first batch of Chinese tourists travelling from Beijing and Wuhan -- the first place in the world where Covid cases were reported -- will land on Thai ground on Jan 9. Because the government opted for a single standard approach with foreign travellers, these Chinese visitors will be treated like all other travellers.
They must provide proof of having received at least two vaccines, and have Covid health insurance. These travellers do not have to show a Covid-19 test as it is presumed they are Covid-free. The Chinese government requires outbound and inbound travellers to take RT-PCR tests 48 hours before boarding an aircraft.
A growing list of countries, including the US, UK, India, Japan and several European nations, have announced tougher measures on travellers from China amid concerns over a lack of data on infections and fears of the possibility that new variants may emerge.
The US, India and the UK are among the nations that have introduced mandatory testing for arrivals from China, in addition to proof of a Covid test and proof of vaccines. Needless to say, China criticised these nations' decision as politically driven. The countries with the highest Covid infections are Japan, South Korea and the US, with China in 10th place.
Yet there are reports of a sharp rise of Covid infections in China. Even more so, the World Health Organization has questioned the Covid-19 data from China, saying China's number of Covid infections is under-represented.
Seemingly discriminatory and knee-jerk reactions follow reports of infections from flights from China and questions about China's data on Covid. Some 35 of the 92 passengers on a plane from China to Milan on Dec 26 tested positive for Covid-19, while 62 out of 120 passengers on a second flight tested positive. Yesterday, 25% of travellers from China to Taiwan tested positive for Covid. These reports raise questions around the reliability of China's screening process for outbound travellers flying from the mainland.
To deal with this risk, the cabinet yesterday prescribed additional safeguard measures. For instance, officials will run random tests for Covid-19 with wastewater collected from international aircraft flying from China while the government will open a new centre to monitor Covid-19 infections among foreign visitors.
The question is whether these measures are sufficient. Health officials have failed to track down infected tourists. Hotels that provide quarantine services have let infected tourists exit quarantine.
The Public Health Ministry and tourism operators must be active in monitoring infections among travellers -- not only at the airport but also foreign visitors travelling by high-speed train from China through Lao PDR. Good medical treatment and quarantine services must be available. The campaign on face mask wearing and social distancing must continue. Above all, the government must not be reluctant to impose strict measures against Chinese or any foreign travellers if necessary.
