Travellers arrive with their luggage at the Beijing Capital International Airport following the coronavirus disease outbreak in Beijing, China December 30, 2020.Travellers arrive with their luggage at the Beijing Capital International Airport following the coronavirus disease outbreak in Beijing, China December 30, 2020.
Except for airplane wastewater testing by Malaysia and Thailand for the virus, the region’s 11 nations will treat Chinese travellers like any others. Thailand already expects to welcome 5 million Chinese travellers this year, or about half of the 10.99 million of 2019. Neighbouring Malaysia projects 1.5 million to 2 million Chinese tourists this year versus 3 million before the pandemic.
Karen Grépin, a public health professor at Hong Kong University, agreed with that approach, adding, “Everyday, countries import thousands of cases of COVID-19 from around the world.”