?The rapid spread of COVID-19 throughout China has resulted in hospitals full of patients, fears of a new coronavirus variant and new travel restrictions around the globe. Nonetheless, China is lifting its travel restrictions. We’ve gathered articles on the news from SHRM Online and other news outlets.
Hospital Staff ‘Extremely Busy’
Staff at Huaxi, a large hospital in Chengdu, China, said they were “extremely busy” with COVID-19 patients. “I’ve been doing this job for 30 years and this is the busiest I have ever known it,” said one ambulance driver outside the hospital. There were long lines inside and outside the hospital’s emergency department and at an adjacent fever clinic on Dec. 27. “Almost all of the patients have COVID,” one emergency department pharmacy staff member said. Nurses and doctors have been asked to work while sick, and retired medical workers in rural areas have been rehired to help.
(Reuters)
New Coronavirus Mutant?
Could the COVID-19 surge in China result in a new coronavirus mutant around the world? Scientists don’t know but worry that might happen. “China has a population that is very large and there’s limited immunity. And that seems to be the setting in which we may see an explosion of a new variant,” said Dr. Stuart Campbell Ray, an infectious disease expert at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.
(AP)
Restrictions on Travelers from China
Nations across the globe are implementing or considering measures to test or restrict travelers from China as the country of 1.4 billion abandons its “COVID-zero policy” and prepares to reopen borders in early January. As of Jan. 5, the U.S. will require travelers from China to show negative COVID-19 tests.
(Fortune and The New York Times)
China Eases Travel Restrictions
China, meanwhile, has eased its travel restrictions for entry into the country as of Jan. 8. It is a significant move to reopen borders that have been all but closed for nearly three years. Restrictions on the number of flights allowed into Chinese airports will be eased. Outbound travel for Chinese citizens, who have largely not left the country since 2020, will be resumed. The new policies are meant to help the resumption of travel for business, study and family reunions.
Spike in COVID-19 Cases in Beijing Leaves Workplaces Empty
The recent spread of COVID-19 was apparent in Beijing in mid-December, leaving many workplaces empty as employees and customers stayed away from shops and restaurants. The new cases followed the country’s easing of restrictive COVID-19 policies.