Coronavirus: Canada, Australia, Morocco add to Covid restrictions on Chinese travellers

53 international travellers, tested positive for Covid-19 during 2% random sampling at airports across the country, out of 5,666 samples collected so far: Sources

A pre-departure RT-PCR negative test report will be mandatory from January 1, 2023 for passengers coming in all international flights from China, Singapore, Hong Kong, the Republic of Korea, Thailand and Japan.From January 1, 2023, airlines are directed to modify their check-in functionalities to incorporate the changes and issue boarding passes only to those international passengers travelling from these five countries who have submitted self-declaration forms on the Air Suvidha portal.

Chinese manufacturing contracted for a third consecutive month in December, in the biggest drop since early 2020, as the country battles a nationwide Covid-19 surge after suddenly easing anti-epidemic measures.

India reported 226 new coronavirus infections, raising the tally to 4.46 crore, while the active cases increased to 3,653, the Union Health Ministry said on Saturday.

Despite its hospitals and morgues being overwhelmed -- and international concern over the low official figures on infections and deaths there -- China insisted Friday that it had been transparent in sharing its Covid-19 data.

France and Britain on Friday joined a growing list of nations imposing Covid tests on travelers from China, and the World Health Organization pressed Beijing to be more forthcoming on real-time data amid an explosion of cases there. Spain, South Korea and Israel also said they would require proof of a negative test for travelers leaving China.

China's factory activity shrank for the third straight month in December and at the sharpest pace in nearly three years as Covid infections swept through production lines across the country after Beijing's abrupt reversal of anti-virus measures.

China reported one new death in the mainland for December 30, compared with one death a day earlier, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention said on Saturday. The death toll has risen to 5,248.