China has placed about 17 million residents under lockdown, as virus cases doubled nationwide to nearly 3,400 and anxiety mounted over the resilience of its ‘zero-Covid’ approach in the face of the worst outbreak in two years.

The southern tech hub of Shenzhen – home to about 13 million people – told all residents to stay at home as it struggles to eradicate an Omicron flare-up linked to the neighbouring virus-ravaged city of Hong Kong.

The lockdown and a suspension of public transport will last until March 20, a city government notice said, adding that it would launch three rounds of mass testing.

A nationwide surge in cases has seen authorities close schools in Shanghai, China’s biggest city, and lock down northeastern cities, as almost 18 provinces battle clusters of the Omicron and Delta variants.

The city of Jilin – centre of the outbreak in the northeast – was partially locked down on Saturday, while residents of Yanji, an urban area of nearly 700,000 bordering North Korea, were confined to their homes on Sunday.

China, where the virus was first detected in late 2019, has maintained a strict “zero-COVID” policy, enforced by swift lockdowns, travel restrictions and mass testing when clusters have emerged.

But the latest flare-up, driven by the highly transmissible Omicron variant and a spike in asymptomatic cases, is testing the efficacy of that approach.

Zhang Yan, a Jilin health commission official, conceded that the response from local authorities had been lacking.

“The emergency response mechanism in some areas is not robust enough,” he said at a press briefing on Sunday.

“There is insufficient understanding of the characteristics of the Omicron variant … and judgement has been inaccurate.”

Residents of Jilin have completed six rounds of mass testing, with the city reporting more than 2,200 cases of the Omicron variant since Saturday.

The neighbouring city of Changchun – an industrial base of nine million people – was locked down on Friday, while at least three other small cities have been locked down since March 1.

The mayor of Jilin and the head of the Changchun health commission were dismissed from their jobs on Saturday, state media reported, in a sign of the political imperative placed on local authorities to contain virus clusters.

COVID-zero?

But the strain is showing, with officials increasingly urging softer and more targeted measures to contain the virus, while economists warn tough clampdowns are hurting the economy.

Shenzhen residents have been anxious over a renewed outbreak and angst at the swift, draconian measures to squash clusters.

“It’s the worst since 2020,” a Shenzhen resident surnamed Zhang told the AFP news agency. “The closures are too sudden. My friend woke up in the morning to find her building was sealed overnight without warning. Her boss had to mail her laptop to her.”

The Shenzhen subdistrict of Futian which was locked down on Sunday is home to 300,000 people and a thriving commercial district. It shares a land border crossing with Hong Kong, where the caseload over recent weeks has soared, alarming officials in Beijing.

Hong Kong currently has one of the world’s highest death rates from the virus, as the Omicron variant cuts through its elderly population among whom vaccine hesitancy proliferates.

In Shanghai, authorities have temporarily locked down individual schools, businesses, restaurants and malls over close-contact fears rather than using mass quarantines.

Authorities advised residents not to leave the city unless necessary and tourist attractions started requiring visitors to provide negative COVID tests.

“I have friends who I hung out with a few days ago but were suddenly quarantined recently,” Shanghai resident Serena Li told AFP.

The government’s approach will “protect citizens”, she said, adding: “In the long run, it’s good.”

Long lines were seen outside hospitals on Sunday as people rushed to get tested.

“There’s no other way. We definitely have to do what the government has arranged,” said a data analytics worker surnamed Zhang.

As cases rise, the country’s National Health Commission announced on Friday that it would make rapid antigen tests available for citizens to buy online or from clinics for “self-testing”.

Although nucleic acid tests will continue to be the main method of testing, the move suggests China may be anticipating that official efforts will not be able to contain the virus.

Last week, a top Chinese scientist said the country should aim to co-exist with COVID, like other nations where Omicron has spread like wildfire.

Source: Al Jazeera

African airlines are dusting off plans for operations in a post-pandemic market even as the continent faces mixed prospects in global air traffic recovery. IATA, the International Air Transport Association, predicts a firm path to resumption of global air travel, with passenger numbers expected to surpass the 2019 peak in 2024.

The bullish outlook is informed by the easing of travel restrictions in key markets as Covid-19 vaccinations reach optimal levels and infection rates recede.

Across the globe, airlines posted strong performance in January 2022, with Europe leading the pack and Africa also looking up. Improvements in the major North Atlantic and intra-European markets, are the backbone for recovery with Asia-Pacific’s recovery expected to continue to lag because China, the region’s largest market, continues to cling to restrictive border controls.

Meanwhile, a sudden spike in fuel prices means airlines will lose more than the $11 billion that IATA had predicted for 2022.

Planning operations

Airlines are either buying aircraft, hiring new personnel or adjusting schedules to shift capacity to markets that are opening up faster and cutting back or putting on hold planned route launches to restricted destinations.

For instance, this week, Ethiopian, Africa’s largest airline, placed an order for five brand-new Boeing 777-8 dedicated freighters, becoming the type’s launch customer on the continent.

After several episodes of start and stop, Nigeria says it will finally relaunch its revamped flag carrier next year.

According to the African Airlines Association (AFRAA), four airlines continued with their route development plans during 2021 while another 11 either reopened existing routes or launched new ones. At the end of January 2022, airlines in the region had reinstated 78.7 percent of their pre-Covid capacity.

Uganda Airlines which last year launched new services to Johannesburg and Dubai, is hiring staff for its London office ahead of a much-anticipated commencement of services to the UK. Kenya Airways this week announced a network review that will see its London service revert to daily while Yaoundé will cease operating at the end of May.

Kenya Airways has also indefinitely postponed the launch of a planned service to Milan, citing weak market conditions in the Italian market. Further south, South African Airways is spooling up for a return to the market after coming out of restructuring.

IATA sees passenger traffic bouncing past pre-pandemic levels, to reach four million travellers in 2024 – three percent higher than the last peak achieved in 2019. But it will not be until 2025 that African airlines hit a similar milestone.

Key drivers that would have supported Africa’s recovery are missing. Although 34 countries, who between them account for 80 percent of African traffic, have signed up to the Single African Air Transport Market SAATM, the initiative has not gotten off the ground.

Receding infection rates

The airline lobby’s optimism is shared by Airbus and Boeing, the world’s major commercial aircraft manufacturers, who are also sticking to their planned production rate increases.

According to, intra-African demand remained weak at just 31.3 percent while Intercontinental travel was struggling at 23.5 percent.

Despite some easing, governments largely maintained coronavirus controls. For instance, while Uganda removed the requirement for its controversial test on arrival, travellers are required to present a negative Covid certificate taken 72 hours prior to departure, on both the outbound and inbound legs.

While vaccinated passengers can travel to Mauritius without being subjected to a pre-departure test, they are required to take one on arrival and a second one on day five of their stay.

Subject to fewer restrictions, the domestic sector is expected to lead the recovery with regions that have a significant domestic sector benefitting more.

In its latest update, IATA says the pace of recovery slowed in both the domestic and international segments during January 2022 relative to December 2021 as governments tightened travel restrictions in response to the emergence of the Omicron variant last November.

But Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director-General says government have picked lessons from this episode and are now more open to easing restrictions.

“The recovery in air travel continued in January, despite hitting a speed bump called Omicron. Strengthened border controls did not stop the spread of the variant. But where population immunity was strong, the public health systems were not overwhelmed. Many governments are now adjusting Covid-19 polices to align with those for other endemic viruses. This includes lifting travel restrictions that have had such a devastating impact on lives, economies and the freedom to travel,” Walsh says.

Overall, demand for air travel was up 82.3 percent compared to January 2021 although that number was 4.9 percent below December 2021 on a seasonally adjusted basis.

On the opposite end, African airline’ traffic rose just 17.9 percent year on year during the reference period, which was lower than the 26.3 percent annual increase recorded in December 2021. The region’s airlines boosted capacity by 6.3 percent over the period while the load factor improved by 6 percent reach to 60.5 percent.

Cautious optimism

IATA cautions that while January 2022 saw strong growth in traffic compared to the preceding year, passenger demand was far below pre-Covid-19 levels. Total RPKs in January were at 49.6 percent of January 2019 levels with international traffic down 62.4percent and domestic traffic off the mark by 26.5 percent.

The Middle East, a key connector for Africa saw demand rise 145.percent year on year in January compared with January 2021, although that was still below 178.2 percent witnessed in December 2021, compared with the same period in 2020. January capacity rose 71.7 relative to the comparable period for 2021 with load factor inching up 17.5 percentage points to reach 58.6perecent.

The figures for January do not cover any impacts from the Russia-Ukraine conflict because it began at the end of February. According to IATA, the Ukraine market accounted for 3.3 percent of European passenger traffic and 0.8 percent of global traffic in 2021 while Russia’s international market represented 5.7 percent of European traffic excluding the Russia domestic market and 1.3 percent of global traffic.

Operational cost factor

However, the resulting sanctions and airspace closures are expected to affect travel, especially among countries neighbouring Russia and Ukraine. The airspace closures have forced the rerouting or cancellations of flights on some routes, mostly in the Europe-Asia and the Asia-North America market.

The airline lobby, however, observes that in addition to disruptions caused by the Ukraine conflict, the resulting spike in fuel prices is adding pressure on airline costs and will negatively impact the loss position. The airline industry was expected to accumulate a loss of $201 billion between 2020 and 2022.

“When we made our most recent industry financial forecast last autumn, we expected the airline industry to lose $11.6 billion in 2022 with jet fuel at $78/barrel and fuel accounting for 20 percent of costs. As of March 4, jet fuel is trading at over $140/barrel. Absorbing such a massive hit on costs just as the industry is struggling to cut losses as it emerges from the two-year Covid-19 crisis is a huge challenge. If jet fuel prices stay that high, then over time, it is reasonable to expect that it will be reflected in airline yields,” said Walsh.

Supply chain restoration

On the upside, many governments are removing or relaxing their Covid-19 travel protocols as a growing body of evidence suggests that airline passenger do not pose a greater than average risk of transmitting the disease. For instance, Singapore has introduced vaccinated lanes at its airports allowing vaccinated travellers to transit faster.

“The past few weeks have seen a dramatic shift by many governments around the world to ease or remove Covid-19-related travel restrictions and requirements as the disease enters its endemic phase. It is vital that this process continue and even accelerate, to more quickly restore damaged global supply chains and enable people to resume their lives,” says Walsh.

Walsh adds that one step that could speed up a return to normalcy would be to remove mask mandates for air travel.

“It makes no sense to continue to require masks on airplanes when they are no longer being required in shopping malls, theatres or offices. Aircraft are equipped with highly sophisticated hospital quality filtration systems and have much higher air flow and air exchange rates than most other indoor environments where mask mandates already have been removed,” said Walsh.

Year-on-year, domestic air travel was up 41.5 percent during the month but down 7.2 percent compared with December 2021 on a seasonally adjusted basis. International revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs) rose 165.6 percent compared to January 2021 but slipped by 2.2 percent between December 2021 and January 2022.

European airlines saw the most growth during January, with international traffic increasing by 225.1 percent over the comparable period for 2021. That growth was achieved on a 129.9 percent increase in capacity while the load factor climbed 19.4 percentage points to 66.4 percent.

The bullish outlook is informed by the easing of travel restrictions in key markets as Covid-19 vaccinations reach optimal levels and infection rates recede. But the gains will not be evenly distributed with the business expected to recover at a slower pace in Africa, which has vaccinated fewer people against Covid.

Despite the global easing, African operators face mixed prospects, boxed in by low Covid-19 vaccination rates and a smaller domestic market. That is likely to limit the number of people who can travel within the region and beyond.

Source: The East African

Private medical laboratories and travel agents in Pakistan are pocketing tens of thousands of dollars a day from fake polymerase chain reaction pre-flight test reports for international travelers, an investigation by Arab News shows, as authorities admit they are aware of the practice.

About 20,000 passengers fly out of Pakistani airports every day, with many required to undergo pre-flight testing before departure.

With the help of a whistleblower travel agent, Arab News recorded the process of obtaining a fake PCR report.

“All over Pakistan, wherever you go to any travel agent to get a ticket, they will offer you to manage a PCR too,” the whistleblower, who did not want to be named due to risks to his business, said. “They have contacts with labs and owners of medical labs have connections with airlines. They are all a mafia.”

The whistleblower booked a ticket for an Arab News team member to travel to a Middle Eastern country, took a scanned copy of the passport and a photo of the traveler holding a swab stick. But then, after the photo was taken, he took his own sample, not the traveler’s.

He then sent copies of the ticket, passport and the photo to a medical lab through WhatsApp to obtain the report.

“Medical labs give us a swab stick that we use to take a photo (of the traveler) to send to the lab,” he said.

While labs take hours to process samples for PCR screening, the agent received a negative COVID-19 test result within 14 minutes, together with a fit-to-travel certificate and an original QR code with a photo of the Arab News team member.

“At airports, they just check the barcode,” he said. “They scan the barcode and allow you to travel if it is negative.”

Obtaining pre-flight COVID-19 reports from travel agents saves passengers not only the time they would spend queuing for testing and waiting for the sample to be processed, but also the worry that they may be unfit for the journey.

“If a passenger tries to get a report directly from a lab, there are chances that he may turn out COVID-19 positive,” the whistleblower agent said. “Passengers request us to manage a negative report.”

While medical labs charge up to Rs5,500 (about $31) per PCR test, travel agents cooperating with labs get about 20 percent of the fee.

“We prefer to fake a test by ourselves, and this way we take our share,” he said. “If a hundred people are traveling, only one or two of them will have an authentic report.”

At this estimated rate and with an average of 100 passengers per flight, the whole business could be worth tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of dollars a day, insiders in the business say.

Authorities admit they are aware of the PCR black market. 

Planning Minister Asad Umar, who oversees Pakistan’s pandemic response, told Arab News action was taken whenever such practices were reported, but the issue was not for the Pakistani authorities to handle.

“That (PCR tests) is not the requirement of the government of Pakistan, that is the requirement of the countries they (travelers) are traveling to,” he said. “So, the government of Pakistan has really nothing to do with it.”

Health professionals disagree.

The Pakistan Medical Association said the government should look into it as a “serious issue.”

“If a COVID-positive person travels, he can cause a rapid transmission in the plane and host countries’ communities,” the association’s secretary general, Dr. Qaiser Sajjad, said. “This can bring international disrepute.”

Source: Arab News

Businesses in Rwanda have resumed normal operations Saturday after the government lifted the night curfew that has been in place for two years since the Covid-19 pandemic hit in March 2020.

The decision comes as Covid-19 cases drop and after Rwanda reached its Covid-19 vaccination target of fully vaccinating 60 percent of the population or 7.8 million out of 12.9 million population on March 4.

A Cabinet meeting on Friday night chaired by President Paul Kagame also resolved to reopen all of Rwanda’s land borders starting Monday, March 7. The borders have been closed for the last two years, with only returning citizens and cargo trucks allowed to cross.

While other activities have been allowed to operate 24 hours, nightclubs, bars, concerts, live bands, and betting activities are prohibited to exceed 2 pm.

Weddings, funerals, conferences, and meetings can be held at full venue capacity, while the 72-hour Covid-19 test requirement for attendants in public events has been reduced to 48 hours.

However, citizens and residents are obliged to get fully vaccinated — two Covid-19 doses and a booster shot for those eligible — to access public services and places.

The Cabinet meeting was also briefed on Rwanda’s joining of the International Vaccine Institute as Rwanda positions itself to receive the vaccine manufacturing plant from BioNTech this year.

Rwanda targets to fully vaccinate 9.1 million people by July this year. The Ministry of Health has installed mobile clinics in public places such as markets, malls, and bus stations to ease access to the vaccine.

Restaurants, public buses, and event managers are required to ensure that attendants are fully vaccinated and tested for Covid-19.

“The Ministry of Health may temporarily close public or private premises with identified clusters of people infected with Covid-19,” the Cabinet meeting communique stated.

The statement also urged the public to continue adhering to Covid-19 preventive measures, including properly wearing face masks, frequently washing hands, and inoculation.

Rwanda has seen a drastic drop in Covid-19 cases for the last two months, with the positivity rate dropping from five percent in December to the current 0.3 percent.

Since January 26, Rwanda has been adhering to a midnight curfew. It also allowed some major events to take place, including the recently concluded Tour du Rwanda cycling, music, and other sports in Kigali stadiums.

The current guidelines will be reviewed in one month upon health assessment.

Source: The East African