Demand for flights on Chinese travel platform Trip.com for the Chinese New Year holiday rose by more than 600 percent this Wednesday after authorities announced the end of a series of preventive measures against covid-19.
The platform had previously said it expected a 900 percent increase in demand for plane and train tickets during the holiday, according to local press, but was surprised by the release of the Chinese government’s new epidemic prevention guidelines shortly after. (Executive Council.
Just two hours after the platform unveiled its plan for the holiday period, searches for plane tickets and hotel bookings increased by more than 600% compared to the previous day.
Chinese New Year this year falls on the last week of January.
The main holiday of Chinese families, equivalent to Christmas in Western countries, is traditionally the largest internal migration on the planet, when hundreds of millions of Chinese return to their homeland. However, in recent years, the number of trips has decreased due to the epidemic prevention measures in place in the country. These measures included a quarantine period for travelers from cities or provinces with active outbreaks.
China will now allow some asymptomatic infected people with “qualifying” mild cases of Covid-19 to recover at home rather than being isolated in designated facilities.
The measures also include reducing the frequency of PCR tests for the public, among other decisions that signal the end of the “zero cases” policy of covid-19 that has been in place in the country since the start of the pandemic.
In recent days, the official press has begun minimizing the risks of the Ómicron variant of the novel coronavirus through articles and interviews with experts.
Authorities have already said “conditions” have been met for the country to “adjust” its measures to this “new situation” in which the virus is causing fewer deaths, although they have also announced a plan to speed up the vaccination of older people. , the most vulnerable, but also the most reluctant to be vaccinated in an Asian country.
The policy change comes after recent protests in several Chinese cities against the “zero case” policy of COVID-19, which led to a string of tragedies and abuses of power and kept the country’s borders closed for almost three years.
The protests were sparked by a deadly building fire in the northwest Chinese city of Urumqi. Protesters say blockades in the area as part of epidemic prevention measures have delayed access for a fire truck. Residents were also unable to leave the building, the door of which was blocked.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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