Denying Entry to Foreigners will have Enormous Impact Businesses
Denying entry to foreign nationals
will have enormous impact
on families and businesses
International business representatives said on Friday that China's ban on foreign nationals entering the country would have an "enormous" impact on their operations and cast doubts on China's effort to open its economy.
The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China said the ban would be an "unprecedented challenge for companies in need of both permanent and temporary talent from abroad, and will keep many families apart".
"The temporary ban on foreign nationals returning to China will have an enormous impact on many European businesses and families based here," it said in a statement.
The chamber said it expected that these measures would be constantly reevaluated and adjusted as the global situation develops, so that foreign experts could return and families could be reunited as soon as possible.
China to ban most foreign arrivals
in effort to block contagion's spread
China has an established track record of handling challenging economic situations, such in 1978, 1992 and 2001 by opening up its markets. Let's not waste this crisis.
Citing the need to contain imported cases of Covid-19, the Chinese foreign ministry said that entry visas issued to foreigners would be suspended as an "interim measure", according to a statement late on Thursday that caught foreign businesses and communities by surprise.
"In view of the rapid spread of the new coronavirus epidemic worldwide, China has decided to temporarily suspend entry of foreigners with currently valid visas and residence permits in China," the ministry said.
The suspension will not apply to those holding diplomatic, service and courtesy visas. Those who need to go to China for economic, trade, scientific and technological activities or out of humanitarian needs may still apply for visas at Chinese embassies or consulates.
Statistics show about 950,000 foreigners live on mainland China. Mainland China reported 54 new imported cases of coronavirus on Friday, bringing the total number to 595. Most are Chinese nationals returning home.
European, US travellers scramble for flights
as Asia's key transit hubs close
In addition to banning entry to foreigners, Beijing also said each Chinese airline would only be allowed to fly one weekly route to one city per country, operating at no more than 75 per cent capacity.
Each overseas carrier would be limited to one weekly flight to China, at three-quarters capacity, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said.
"To resolutely contain the increasing risks of imported Covid-19 cases, and in accordance with the requirements of the State Council for joint prevention and control of the pandemic, (the regulator) has decided to further reduce the number of international passenger flights," it said.
A manager-level professional at a duty-free business in Seoul, who asked for anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue, expressed her concerns over the economic implications of the measure.
She said the measure would "further damage" the already struggling industry. "The measures, especially reducing the number of planes to China, would limit Chinese wholesalers from buying our products," she said.
She added that Chinese wholesalers were taking turns to enter Seoul to buy goods for resale, despite the epidemic.
China reports 54 new cases
All imported
China reported 54 new novel coronavirus patients Friday - bringing the total number of active cases to 3,128. All of the new cases were travelers coming into China from overseas.
On Saturday, China begins its most stringent measures to curtail inbound travelers by banning most foreign nationals - including those holding Chinese visas and residency permits. Only foreign nationals granted visas after March 26 will be allowed entry.
China, which managed to mostly halt domestic transmission, has reported 649 cases from inbound travelers. Three additional deaths were confirmed in China Friday, taking its death toll to 3,295. Of the total 81,349 cases in the country, 74,971 patients have recovered and been discharged from hospital.
More than 600,000 infected cases
in the world
There are now more than 600,000 confirmed cases of novel coronavirus globally. As of 02:00a.m. on 27th March, the totally number of confirmed cases stands at 520,108, and the number of deaths stands at 23,592 dealths.
The number of confirmed cases of coronavirus around the world has now passed 600,000. With many countries, including the UK, now only testing the most serious cases, however, the true extent of infections is likely to be much greater.
According to the university’s interactive map, 601,478 people had been confirmed as infected with Covid-19, and 27,862 deaths attributed to the disease. At least 131,826 people have recovered after falling ill.
The US has the highest number of confirmed infections with 104,837, followed by Italy with 86,498 and China with 81,948.
Italy now has more cases than China
The number of coronavirus cases in Italy has reached 86,498 that puts the country ahead of China, where 81,946 infections have been confirmed.
Both are short of the over 104,000 cases reported in the United States. However not all countries report or measure cases in the same manner, so the true figures could be higher in Italy and China.
More than 9,000 people have died from the coronavirus in Italy, more than anywhere else in the world, followed by Spain at 5,138 deaths, and China at 3,295. In the US, there have been about 1,700 deaths so far.
Italy had 969 deaths on Friday - the biggest single-day jump since the crisis began. The country's health system has been pushed to the brink by the outbreak, especially in the north, which has seen the highest concentration of cases.
ORDER ONLINE
[CLICK BELOW PHOTO TO ORDER]
Editor's Picks
Cities In Crisis: COVER STORY March 2020 Business Tianjin Foreign Travelers Denied Entry if Providing Incomplete Info Will be the WHOLE WORLD under a COMPLETE LOCKDOWN? China reports 39 New Imported Cases and 9 Deaths China Reports First New Local Coronavirus Case in 4 Days How Testing For Covid-19 Works Countries with Travel Bans: See here the list! American Companies Less Willing to Invest in China Travelers Providing Wrong Health Info will Face Criminal Charges Global Stock Markets Worst in History | Pandemic over by June Companies Exempts to pay Three Insurances Premiums in Tianjin What we know and don't know 关于新冠肺炎，你知道的和不知道的 Wearing Masks vs. Washing Hands 如何正确的佩戴口罩和洗
2020 MARCH issue