China ‘could start easing international travel restrictions by next spring’ if it hits coronavirus vaccination targets
- The country aims to inoculate at least 70 per cent of its population by then, which would allow China to start negotiating an end to border restrictions
- But Zhang Wenhong, head of Shanghai’s Covid-19 team, warns that it risks falling behind other major economies if take-up rates stay low
Chinese people may be able to start travelling overseas with fewer restrictions next spring as the country pushes to inoculate at least 70 per cent of the population against Covid-19 by then, a medical specialist has said.
“We think it is possible next spring,” Zhang Wenhong, the head of Shanghai’s Covid-19 clinical team, told the state broadcaster CCTV on Sunday. “Given China’s current vaccination speed, I think we will have an immune barrier next spring. Then we will have to communicate with other countries.”
However, the overall numbers vaccinated in China is still relatively low and Zhang warned that China risked falling behind other major economies when it came to reopening borders unless these targets were met.
While Covid-19 has been largely brought under control in China, the southwestern province of Yunnan reported 15 new locally transmitted cases on Tuesday.
China has set a target of inoculating 40 per cent of its population by June and the National Health Commission said that it has given almost 142 million doses as of Monday.
