The US will impose entry restrictions on travelers from China starting Thursday. The reason is that the COVID outbreak in China “could mutate into a new strain and pose a risk of transmission”. However, strain analysis shows that the omicron subspecies BA.5 currently distributed in China was the most widespread strain in the US a few months ago, while the youngest strain, XBB.1.5, recently discovered in Shanghai and Hangzhou, is currently is widespread in the United States. It is clear that China is a victim of the pandemic. And by disregarding facts and science, the US wants to play cop as a thief.
According to the World Health Organization’s Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System (GISRS), XBB.1.5 has been detected in at least 74 countries and regions, with the strain detected in 43 US states. Many US experts stated that the first reported samples of XBB.1.5 came from New York and Connecticut in late October. So both the current BA.5 outbreak in China and the recent discovery of the XBB.1.5 strain were later than their appearance in the US and many other countries. The new strain currently dominant in China has previously spread around the world.
While most countries are lifting entry restrictions, the US’s targeted entry restrictions on travelers from China are purely political manipulation.
The US has always politicized the prevention of COVID-19 and shifted its own blame onto others. This not only made them the world’s biggest failure in the fight against the coronavirus, but has also led to the further spread of the virus and slowed down the global fight against the pandemic. A politicized fight against the pandemic cannot prevent the spread of the virus. Unity and cooperation are the only way out of the dilemma. The US government’s crackdown on inbound Chinese tourists is a repeated mistake and a futile step in the wrong direction.