travelers from vancouver hong kong They said they were relieved to be among the last arrivals before Canada’s new COVID-19 Testing requirements were put into effect, including one woman who changed her flight to avoid the rules.
Starting Thursday at 12:01 AM Eastern Time, travelers from Canada will be required to ChinaTo provide proof of a negative PCR or antigen test within two days of departure from Hong Kong or Macau.
The new measure, for 30 days, is a response to a surge in the virus in China and limited epidemiological and other available data, the Public Health Agency of Canada announced Saturday.
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Penny Tao was aboard the Cathay Pacific flight, which landed around 11:30 a.m. Wednesday.
Another Cathay flight was delayed and was expected to arrive at 9:02 p.m. local time, just after the rules took effect.
Tao said she was planning to fly to Canada for the Chinese New Year, which falls on Jan. 22, but when she learned about the impending testing regulations, she switched to an earlier flight. She said that her schedule was too busy to arrange a test.
“I don’t have enough time because the new year is coming,” said Tao, who plans to visit Vancouver and elsewhere with an old friend for the next few months.
Another passenger on the flight said he felt lucky to be able to return to Vancouver without being provided with test results.
The Canadian national, who is returning from working in Hong Kong after more than 20 years, asked not to be identified on grounds of security, saying otherwise he felt uneasy about China and the situation in Hong Kong. He said the COVID-19 situation in Hong Kong was not as dire as in mainland China, where the sudden lifting of pandemic restrictions has led to a surge in cases.
“I think I am the last person among my circle of friends to come back to Canada, most of my friends returned (to Vancouver) two years ago. I am the last one,” said the British Columbia Institute of Technology alumnus.
He said he was “drinking high tea and playing mah-jongg” with his friends.
Hong Kong resident Larry Cui’s Covid test was negative only when he was asked to give it. He didn’t know until he came over that he came down before the rules started.
“I didn’t know it. In fact, I got tested before boarding the plane yesterday, in case the Canadian authorities asked me,” Cui said.
In Shanghai, Jiayuan Jin meanwhile was preparing to fly to Vancouver and be among the first to arrive under the new testing regime.
The Canadian resident is a third year student studying economics at the University of British Columbia. But she has been in China since early in the pandemic in 2020, studying remotely at UBC, and then as an exchange student at a university in Shanghai.
He was to reach Vancouver on January 7, two days before the start of his term.
Jin said in an interview in Mandarin that he planned to take the PCR test before boarding. She said she was confident of testing negative.
She said she supports Canada’s new testing rule as a way to keep everyone safe, and that the process of getting a COVID-19 test in China was convenient.
“Booking a COVID-19 test is easy. For example, in Shanghai, I’ll hit a COVID-19 testing booth every 200 meters and within 10 hours, I can get results,” Jin said.
“For those who feel unwell and have COVID-19, they will not be able to enter Canada. But those who are Covid-free can return to visit their families and continue with their lives here.”
The Chinese government has criticized testing requirements imposed on travelers from China and threatened retaliation against the countries involved, including the US and several European countries.
“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 spokesman Mao Ning said at a daily briefing on Tuesday.
“We strongly oppose attempts to manipulate COVID measures for political purposes and will retaliate based on the principle of reciprocity,” she said.
This story was produced with financial support from Meta and the Canadian Press News Fellowship.
With files from The Associated Press
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