China opening up. Why isn't the UK being more wary?

[Fordian]

in China: Countries tighten rules as tourism set to resume www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-64111492

Why haven't we learned? If we'd shut down 10-14 days earlier than March 23rd 2020 this whole thing may not have been as hard for us.

China's neighbours, Italy and most probably the USA are not throwing their doors open to Chinese tourists, yet the UK sits on the 'let's see' fence.....

This thread is sinophobic.

Of course it's not racism. China has maintained a zero covid policy, that's very different to most other developed countries. People in China have not been given the more effective mRNA vaccines. That is also very different. Who knows the virulence of the strains that will be brought in?

It’s really not.

Countries bordering China have to insist on negative tests- otherwise you get ill rich Chinese people flying or travelling there for healthcare (if Chinese hospitals are already overwhelmed). Italy already had issues with Chinese workers seeding Covid in the first wave. Again, if you have a plane arriving with 60 per cent of Covid positive passengers - then you have to look after them if they are sick.
The US already insists on vaccination or Covid negative test. Most of Europe currently has no restrictions and no vaccination requirements so reintroducing stuff has a huge admin burden which has to be introduced based on real data (eg worrisome strain etc).
Perhaps if Chinese borders are open some Chinese can go get mRNA vaccines in neighbouring countries. The Chinese government needs to get their elderly vaccinated with mRNA urgently. Hopefully they will wake up and deal with this pretty soon. Otherwise they will just have wave after wave and given trade with China it impacts the whole world. I suspect the US will sell them some mRNA

If we mean it, that "living with the virus" is taking no precautions at a society level at all (and the "anxious" and the vulnerable just need to protect themselves, because we can't impose restrictions again, they're intolerable/harmful) then of course we let anyone arrive.

Because potentially infectious people are not restricted an any way, and even those who know they have it aren't compelled to stay away from others.

It's really not
The same conversation would be has if it were India, Ghana, Italy, Australia...
Nothing to do with their nationality.

Come on. It’s endemic everywhere else so what’s the point? No evidence that there’s a strain there that escapes immunity.

Wary of what?! Covid is here too.

I'm buying loo roll and sticking cheese in my coffee already.

It wouldn't be Christmas without covid panic.

...

When NZ and Oz were having their Covid waves, it was not singled out like this.

China are just starting tourism now after 3 years? They actually handled covid better than us.

BBC link in op not working for some reason?

😁

😂

They didn't use the much poorer vaccine, Sinovac and their governments have been totally transparent about the numbers.

I agree. We currently have 144,000 Chinese students in our U.K. universities.
But posters are worried about tourists coming for a few days?

😂😂😂

So? Loads of unvaccinated people coming in and out all over the world. Many countries don’t test anymore so we don’t know the numbers globally either.

Covid is everywhere, this is just China joining the rest of the world. No evidence that this strain will escape immunity.

Knee-jerk reactions

Sinovac isn’t “much poorer”. It is still a highly effective vaccine.
www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/sinovacs-covid-shot-highly-effective-against-serious-illness-malaysia-study-2021-09-24/

They really haven't. Their population has endured months of really severe lockdowns, no foreign travel including to see family and an enormous economic fallout. This sacrifice did buy them the opportunity for most people to get vaccinated before catching covid and for medicines to be available for those who need them, but through nationalist pride they used only their own inferior vaccine and failed to get it into the arms of many of the oldest people. By denying that they were ever going to open up until the last minute, they wasted the opportunity to plan and stockpile medicines and oxygen. What's happening there now is awful - people doing in their homes and in the streets outside hospitals, bodies piling high, DIY cremations, society in collapse as literally everyone is sick at once. (I have family there and follow it quite closely)

Plus there are also no direct flights from China to the UK at present
There are direct flights from London to Hong Kong. But you’re right, most other direct flights are now going via Paris.

Its not Sino phobic to tell the truth.

China doesn't give 2 fucks about anything, influences UK Uni's, has Chinese state operatives here and on numbers, we ve opened up to 5m HK Chinese to come and live here, no checks no nothing.

Making the same mistake with China as we did with Russia.

Ah so you have an axe to grind with the Chinese government.

Which is fine, but why should the average Chinese person suffer for that?

through nationalist pride they used only their own inferior vaccine and failed to get it into the arms of many of the oldest people.

Im not sure we did any better. Currently the U.K. has 88% of the population fully vaccinated compared to China’s 87% based on two initial doses (1,2)

Currently, the elderly are averaging 90%+ of deaths from Covid in the US, so while figures from China cannot be obtained, the reports of mostly elderly patients dying or in hospital is not unusual in this either. (3)

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51768274
www.statista.com/statistics/1279024/china-coronavirus-covid-19-vaccination-rate/
abcnews.go.com/Health/90-covid-deaths-occurring-elderly-adults-cdc/story?id=94211121