Beijing has threatened to impose counter-measures on countries such as the UK following the introduction of new Covid restrictions on passengers arriving from China.
“We believe that the entry restrictions adopted by some countries targeting China lack scientific basis, and some excessive practices are even more unacceptable,” foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Tuesday.
“We are firmly opposed to attempts to manipulate the Covid measures for political purposes and will take countermeasures based on the principle of reciprocity.”
People arriving from China into Britain need to present a negative Covid test before entry. Earlier today, however, a Cabinet minister announced that travellers testing positive for coronavirus after arriving from China will not be forced to quarantine.
The UK Department for Health and Social Care said China had been slapped with the new rules because of “a lack of comprehensive health information”, as Chinese state media continue to downplay the severity of the current outbreak.
Chen Erzhen, vice president at Ruijin Hospital in Shanghai and a member of the city’s Covid expert advisory panel, was quoted as saying that 70 per cent of the megacity may have been infected.
