/asia

New Zealand welcomes back first cruise ship since Covid-19 pandemic began | South China Morning Post
▻https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3188608/new-zealand-welcomes-back-first-cruise-ship-covid-19-pandemic

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New Zealand welcomes back first cruise ship since Covid-19 pandemic beganThe Pacific Explorer docked in Auckland with about 2,000 guests and crew as part of a 12-day return trip to Fiji that left from Sydney. Tourism Minister Stuart Nash said it is a ‘step closer to resuming business as usual’ after the country lifted all remaining Covid curbs two weeks ago
Published: 8:59am, 12 Aug, 2022
New Zealand on Friday welcomed the first cruise ship to return since the coronavirus pandemic began, signalling a long-sought return to normalcy for the nation’s tourism industry.New Zealand closed its borders in early 2020 as it sought at first to eliminate Covid-19 entirely and then later to control its spread. Although the country reopened its borders to most tourists arriving by plane in May, it wasn’t until two weeks ago that it lifted all remaining restrictions, including those on maritime arrivals. Many in the cruise industry question why it took so long. The end of restrictions allowed Carnival Australia’s Pacific Explorer cruise ship to dock in Auckland with about 2,000 passengers and crew Friday morning as part of a 12-day return trip to Fiji that left from Sydney.Nash said it would take some time for international tourist numbers and revenues to return to their pre-pandemic levels, when the industry accounted for about 20 per cent of New Zealand’s foreign income and more than 5 per cent of GDP.“I think there’s been many people in the tourism sector who have done it hard over the last two years,” Nash said. “But we’ve always taken an approach where we need to ensure that we get the health response right. Because if we don’t, we know the consequences are dire.”Not everybody is happy with the return of tourists. A sail boat carrying protesters upset about the industry’s impact on the environment followed the Pacific Explorer into the harbour on Friday, before passengers were greeted with an Indigenous Māori welcome and a visit by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

#Covid-19#migrant#migration#nouvellezelande#tourisme#croisière#sante#pandemie#frontiere#economie

Japan sees fewer foreign visitors even after opening border to tourists | South China Morning Post
▻https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3185950/japan-sees-fewer-foreign-visitors-even-after-opening-border

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Japan sees fewer foreign visitors even after opening border to tourists
The number of foreign arrivals was 120,400 compared with 147,000 in May – visitors in June were down 96 per cent compared with three years ago
The country began accepting tourists on June 10, doubling the daily entry limit to 20,000 – most came from Vietnam, followed by China, then South Korea. Foreign visitors to Japan fell in June from the previous month, even after the country began taking steps to reopen its borders to tourists for the first time in more than two years.The total number of foreign arrivals was 120,400 compared with 147,000 in May, according to data released from the Japan National Tourism Organisation on Wednesday. Japan officially began accepting tourists on June 10, doubling the daily entry limit to 20,000 visitors.While the tally doesn’t provide a breakdown on the types of visitors, the decline suggests Japan isn’t seeing a flood of tourists even as a weaker yen makes visits more affordable.Tourists are still limited to group tours with strict controls – including mandatory mask-wearing, temperature checks and limited free movement – appearing to be making it difficult to plan for and attract visitors.Japan is facing its 7th Covid wave, but the tourism industry’s not worried. The biggest number of visitors came from Vietnam, followed by China, then South Korea.Before the pandemic, Japan was at the peak of a tourism boom, with inbound visitors reaching a record in 2019. Now, the island nation is one of the last remaining rich economies with strict border controls. Visitors in June were down 96 per cent compared with the same month three years ago.

#Covid-19#migrant#migration#japon#sante#tourisme#frontiere#controlesanitaire

Japan eases borders for tourists but worries about foreign ‘bad manners’ triggering coronavirus | South China Morning Post
▻https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3179728/japan-eases-borders-tourists-worries-about-foreign-bad-manners

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Japan eases borders for tourists but worries about foreign ‘bad manners’ triggering coronavirus. Relaxing strict Covid measures took months of pressure from travel trade because government feared public backlash if infections spiked. There are concerns visitors who don’t wear masks or use hand sanitiser could spread infections again; against backdrop of economic woes
Published: 6:03pm, 30 May, 2022
Japan’s easing of a two-year ban on foreign tourists seeks to balance the enormous economic importance of tourism with concerns that travellers would trigger a Covid outbreak, insiders say.The decision means Japan will allow in a limited number of foreign tourists on package tours starting June 10. Last week a few “test tours”, mainly of overseas travel agents, started to arrive

#Covid-19#migrant#migration#japon#sante#tourisme#economie#etranger#politiquesanitaire

Coronavirus: Japan test tour by 4 Thai people cancelled after Covid infection | South China Morning Post
▻https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3179862/coronavirus-japan-test-tour-4-thai-people-cancelled-after-covid

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Coronavirus: Japan test tour by 4 Thai people cancelled after Covid infection. The traveller was in Oita when his or her infection was confirmed on Monday; three other close contacts have all tested negative and are isolating in a hotel. The small-scale test tour was part of the government’s programme for when Japan continues easing Covid-19 border controls and accepts foreign tourists in Jun
Published: 5:05pm, 31 May, 2022
A test tour for inbound travellers in Japan has been cancelled after one of four Thais taking part tested positive for the coronavirus, Japan’s tourism agency has said.The traveller was in the southwestern prefecture of Oita when his or her infection was confirmed on Monday. The three other participants were deemed close contacts but have all tested negative. They are currently isolating in a hotel, the agency said. The route of the infection is unknown

#Covid-19#migrant#migration#japon#thailande#sante#circulation#frontiere#tourisme#depistage#cascontact#etranger

Japan to start reopening to foreign tourists from June 10; package tours to two airports | South China Morning Post
▻https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3179324/japan-start-reopening-foreign-tourists-june-10-package-tours

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Japan to start reopening to foreign tourists from June 10; package tours to two airportsWill begin with the admission of tourists on guided package tours, allowing international flights to New Chitose airport in Hokkaido and Naha airport in Okinaw Already announced it will double its cap on arrivals from overseas to 20,000 a day starting next month, though it remains far below pre-pandemic levels
Published: 8:34pm, 26 May, 2022
Japan is set to allow in some package-tour tourists from overseas starting June 10, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Thursday, ending a ban that was introduced about two years ago as part of the country’s virus control programme.“Active exchanges between people are the foundation of the economy and society,” Kishida said in a speech at the Future of Asia conference in Tokyo. “From the 10th of next month we will restart the admission of tourists on guided package tours.”He added that preparations would begin to allow international flights to land at New Chitose airport in Hokkaido and Naha airport in Okinawa starting in June.

#Covid-19#migrant#migration#japon#sante#tourisme#frontiere#circulation

Coronavirus: Japan to ease Covid border controls in June allowing for more overseas arrivals | South China Morning Post
▻https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3178568/coronavirus-japan-ease-covid-border-controls-june-allowing-more

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Coronavirus: Japan to ease Covid border controls in June allowing for more overseas arrivals. Those arriving from about 80 per cent of countries and regions will no longer be required to take virus tests on arrival or undergo quarantine Japan effectively closed its doors to non-resident foreign nationals to prevent a surge in infections driven by the highly transmissible Omicron variant
Japan will relax its Covid border restrictions from June 1, including by doubling its daily cap on the number of international arrivals allowed to 20,000, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said on Friday.
The government will also ease Covid-19 testing and quarantine rules for people arriving in Japan, dividing countries and regions into three groups according to the infection situation.Travellers from the lowest-risk “blue” group will be exempt from testing upon arrival in Japan and quarantining at home, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told a press conference. They will still need to show a pre-departure negative test result.
Travel sector ‘very happy’ as Japan reopens to tours from 4 countries
17 May 2022Around 80 per cent of entrants are likely to be from countries and regions that fall into that group, Matsuno said, adding that the breakdowns will be announced next week.People arriving from countries and regions placed in the highest-risk “red” group will be asked to take Covid-19 tests when they enter Japan and stay for three days at quarantine facilities.Those in the remaining “yellow” group need to be tested for Covid-19 upon arrival and stay for three days at home or quarantine facilities, according to the government. But this does not apply to people who have received their third vaccine dose.“We believe [the review] will make the entry of visitors smooth,” he said.
Ski resorts in Japan bankrupted by Covid-19 ban on arrivals from overseas
28 Feb 2022Matsuno did not specify when Japan will start accepting foreign tourists again, saying only that preparations are under way to do so.Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has said his government will further relax border controls to bring them in line with other Group of Seven nations in June.
The review comes as Japan has seen the infection situation stabilise in recent weeks. The government changed its stance on masks, saying Friday that wearing them when outdoors is not always necessary, provided people are not conversing.The number of Covid-19 cases in Japan has been lower than in other G7 members such as Britain, Germany, France and the United States, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.Japan effectively closed its doors to non-resident foreign nationals to prevent a surge in infections driven by the highly transmissible Omicron variant of the coronavirus late last year. The measure drew criticism at home and abroad that it was too strict.In recent months, the government has gradually increased the number of people allowed to enter Japan in stages, with the current daily cap at 10,000.Japan has already said it would allow small groups of tourists on package tours to visit on a trial basis starting this month.

#Covid-19#migrant#migration#japon#sante#frontiere#tourisme#fermeture#residentetranger#omicron#etranger

Coronavirus: Singapore citizens dashing to apply for passports as borders reopen | South China Morning Post
▻https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3177758/coronavirus-singapore-citizens-dashing-apply-passports

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Coronavirus: Singapore citizens dashing to apply for passports as borders reopen. The number of passport applications has spiked to more than 7,000 a day, peaking at 14,000 – that compares with about 2,000 a day before the pandemic
Published: 3:30pm, 14 May, 2022
The number of passport applications has spiked to more than 7,000 a day, peaking at 14,000, according to the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority, which described the surge as “overwhelming.” That compares with about 2,000 a day before the pandemic, the ICA said. The average wait for processing now is at least six weeks from the application time, it said.
Asia’s popular tourist destinations from Japan to Thailand are moving to reopen their borders, welcoming back tourists after the latest Covid-19 variant omicron proved to be mild compared to its deadly predecessors. Singapore, itself a well-known attraction, removed pre-departure testing requirements for fully-inoculated visitors from all countries last month.
Local media reported long, snaking queues at the ICA building where applicants waited for hours to collect their travel documents. “I have a backache now” from standing in line, researcher Ad Maulod was quoted by Channel News Asia as saying while he waited three hours to collect his passport for a trip to Malaysia. The ICA has deployed more resources to process the applications and expanded the queuing areas to cope with large crowds, it said in a statement published earlier this week. “We are doing our best to handle the high demand and our officers are working longer hours during this period,” the government agency said. For two years, more than five millions of Singapore’s residents were stuck on the island with the land area of some 730 square kilometres, or about a quarter the size of Rhode Island, the United States’ smallest state. Business travel, contrary to some expectations in the thick of the pandemic, is coming back. While bookings may not have reached pre-Covid levels, there’s mounting evidence of a rebound, the strength of which is taking some by surprise.
United Airlines Holdings Inc. Chief Executive Officer Scott Kirby said last month that corporate travel is recovering so rapidly, it “makes us feel really, really confident.” Keith Tan, CEO of the Singapore Tourism Board, said “rumours about the decline of business travel are greatly exaggerated,” while Virgin Australia head Jayne Hrdlicka said there’s a “push to reinvest in relationships.”Bloomberg spoke to three of the world’s top corporate travel managers – American Express Global Business Travel Chief Commercial Officer Andrew Crawley, Ben Wedlock, senior vice-president of global sales for Asia-Pacific at BCD Travel, and FCM Travel Solutions’ managing director for Asia, Bertrand Saillet. (...).”

#Covid-19#migrant#migration#singapour#pandemie#mobilite#frontiere#sante

Coronavirus: New Zealand reopens, welcomes back tourists – but not from India or China | South China Morning Post
▻https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3176243/coronavirus-new-zealand-reopens-welcomes-back-tourists-not

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Coronavirus: New Zealand reopens, welcomes back tourists – but not from India or China. New Zealand reopened on Monday to about 60 visa-waiver countries, including Singapore, Malaysia and Japan. Tourists from elsewhere are still barred from entry More than 90,000 people booked flights to New Zealand in the seven weeks since the reopening was announced, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said
Published: 3:15pm, 2 May, 2022
New Zealand welcomed tourists from the US, Canada, Britain, Japan and more than 50 other countries for the first time in more than two years on Monday after dropping most of its remaining pandemic border restrictions.
The country has long been renowned for its breathtaking scenery and adventure tourism offerings such as bungee jumping and skiing. Before the spread of Covid-19, more than 3 million tourists visited each year, accounting for 20 per cent of New Zealand’s foreign income and more than 5 per cent of the overall economy.But international tourism stopped altogether in early 2020 after New Zealand imposed some of the world’s toughest border restrictions.A sunny day on the shore of Lake Wanaka in the South Island. International tourism to New Zealand stopped altogether in early 2020 amid the pandemic. Photo: Dreamstime/TNS
The border rules remained in place as the government at first pursued an elimination strategy and then tried to tightly control the spread of the virus. The spread of Omicron and vaccinations of more than 80 per cent of New Zealand’s 5 million population prompted the gradual easing of restrictions.
New Zealand reopened to tourists from Australia three weeks ago and on Monday to about 60 visa-waiver countries, including Singapore, Malaysia and much of Europe. Most tourists from India, China and other non-waiver countries are still not allowed to enter.
Tourists will need to be vaccinated and to test themselves for the virus before and after arriving.“Today is a day to celebrate, and is a big moment in our reconnection with the world,” said Tourism Minister Stuart Nash.
At Auckland Airport, flights bringing in tourists began landing from early in the morning, coming in direct from places including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Kuala Lumpur, and Singapore.The border reopening will help boost tourism ahead of New Zealand’s upcoming ski season. But the real test of how much the tourism industry rebounds will come in December, when the peak summer season begins in the Southern Hemisphere nation.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said more than 90,000 people had booked flights to New Zealand in the seven weeks since the reopening was announced and 21 international flights were scheduled to land Monday in Auckland.“Our tourism industry have felt the effects of the global pandemic acutely, and are working hard to prepare,” she said.Ardern said there were no immediate plans to ease virus testing and vaccination requirements for tourists

#Covid-19#migrant#migration#nouvellezelande#sante#frontiere#economie#tourisme#vaccination#pandemie

South Koreans rush for holidays in US, Europe, Southeast Asia as Covid-19 rules ease | South China Morning Post
▻https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3172489/south-koreans-rush-holidays-us-europe-southeast-asia-covid-19

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South Koreans rush for holidays in US, Europe, Southeast Asia as Covid-19 rules ease
The boom started after March 21 when South Korea lifted a seven-day quarantine for fully vaccinated travellers arriving from most countries
Airlines and travel agencies have reported exploding demand for routes to Hawaii, Saipan and Guam, as well as some destinations in Europe and Southeast Asia. After spending two years being socially distanced in his home country of South Korea, Kim Hoe-jun booked a last-minute flight to Hawaii, where he had enjoyed his honeymoon six years ago, giving in to his craving for overseas travel.“I bought the ticket just a week ago, but it was rather a no-brainer. It felt like I was making up for those two years not being able to go abroad often as I used to before Covid,” he said, before boarding the plane from Incheon International Airport on Friday.
Vaccinated and boosted, Kim and his wife are among South Koreans joining in a rush for “revenge travel” – a term that has been trending on social media as people scramble to book overseas trips that were delayed by coronavirus restrictions.
The boom started after March 21 when South Korea lifted a seven-day mandatory quarantine for fully vaccinated travellers arriving from most countries. The restriction had been eased last year but was reimposed in December as the highly infectious Omicron variant spread.The country has largely scrapped its once-aggressive tracing and containment efforts despite a record Covid-19 wave, joining a growing list of countries across the Asia-Pacific which have eased quarantine rules, including Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore.
Singapore starts ‘living with the virus’, shedding masks outdoors and allowing quarantine-free entry South Koreans now appear more ready to travel. Polls showed people are less worried about the implications of catching the virus, and increasingly see its prevention as out of their hands.
Sales of overseas flight tickets on 11st, an e-commerce unit of SK Telecom Co Ltd, South Korea’s top mobile carrier, rose more than eight-fold compared with a year before between March 11, when the lifting of quarantine was announced, and March 27, the company said.
Saipan and Guam, both of which have travel lane pacts with South Korea, also offer free Covid-19 testing and pay for quarantine expenses if a traveller tests positive. Each South Korean national visiting Saipan even receives US$100 in “travel bucks” incentives to spend at businesses there.
The tour arm of online retail giant Interpark Corp reported a 324 per cent growth in flight bookings for Oceania between March 11-22 from the same period of 2021, a 268 per cent increase for Southeast Asia and 262 per cent more bookings for Europe.On Sunday, the company sold a record 5,200 Hawaii tour packages within just 70 minutes. CJ Corp’s home shopping unit said it received some 2,800 orders for a Spain and Italy trip in one hour on Sunday, totalling 15 billion won (US$12.41 million), days after garnering 9 billion won from its sales of a Hawaii package.
“The surge reflects growing customer sentiment that an end of Covid travel curbs might be in the offing after the mandatory quarantine was lifted,” said Lee Jeong-pil, general manager of CJ’s home shopping unit. Lee Tae-woo, a 36-year-old frequent traveller to Japan, said he had changed some money into yen, taking advantage of the currency’s sharp decline and hoping to jump on the revenge travel bandwagon soon. Though Japan has yet to allow tourists back in, it has reduced the quarantine period for arrivals for business and other purposes to three days from seven this month, and signalled further easing of travel curbs. “It’s been a long wait, and I’m ready to go back as soon as they finally open up again, and visit my favourite coffee roastery and enjoy the night view from Shibuya station,” Lee said, referring to Tokyo’s bustling central district

#Covid-19#migrant#migration#coreedusud#sante#frontiere#mobilité#japon#asiedusudest#tourisme#oceanie#europe

Coronavirus: Japan to relax strict border controls | South China Morning Post
▻https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3166801/coronavirus-japan-relax-strict-border-controls-thai-couples

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Coronavirus: Japan to relax strict border controls; Thai couples urged to mask up for Valentine’s Day sex
Japan’s government will start accepting more than 1,000 foreign workers and students a day this month. Elsewhere, anti-vaccine rallies picked up in numbers in New Zealand and Australia, with protesters blocking roads and disrupting public eventsJapan will ease its strict border controls, beginning with foreign workers and students, the Nikkei reported.The government will start accepting more than 1,000 people a day this month and will gradually raise the cap to several thousand.“We will take into account accumulated scientific knowledge on the Omicron variant, changes in infection conditions inside and outside Japan, and other countries’ border control measures,” Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters in Tokyo.
Kishida’s remarks followed criticism of the entry ban from many academic and business leaders. The measure has prevented international students from entering Japan, prompting some to consider alternatives such as South Korea.The business community, which is facing a chronic labour shortage, has asked for the ban to be lifted.The controls, put in place in late November as the Omicron variant started to spread, are by far the strictest among the Group of Seven nations.

#Covid-19#migrant#migration#japon#sante#omicron#frontiere#circulation#saintvalentin#

Coronavirus: New Zealand braced for more variants after Omicron, PM says; Malaysia set for March reopening to foreigners | South China Morning Post
►https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3166226/coronavirus-new-zealand-braced-more-variants-after-omicron-pm

Malaysia set for March reopening to international visitors
Malaysia’s government advisory council has agreed to reopen the nation’s borders to international visitors as early as March 1, without requiring travellers to undergo compulsory quarantine, Malaysiakini reported.
Travellers who enter Malaysia need to conduct a Covid-19 test before departure and on arrival, the report cited National Recovery Council Chairman and former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin as saying. The NRC met earlier today. The government must set a definite timeline to open the borders, Muhyiddin was quoted as saying in the local media last week. In the NRC meeting held in January, a committee comprising the Health Ministry was formed to map out the way forward, he said.
Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin on February 3 said his ministry will recommend to the government to open borders only after the nation’s booster vaccination rate improves. The ministry is still discussing the threshold values that it is comfortable with in regard to vaccination for children and booster shots for adults, he said. Nearly 80 per cent of Malaysia’s total population has been double jabbed, with more than 53 per cent of adults having received booster shots.The Southeast Asian nation’s borders have remained largely closed since the first lockdown was imposed in March 2020, save for citizens returning home, students, permanent residents and businessmen. Malaysia recently resumed the vaccinated travel lane with Singapore, and has agreed to begin a travel corridor with Indonesia early this year.

#Covid-19#migrant#migration#malaisie#sante#frontiere#circulation#vaccination#confinement#singapour#indonesie

Coronavirus: New Zealand braced for more variants after Omicron, PM says | South China Morning Post
►https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3166226/coronavirus-new-zealand-braced-more-variants-after-omicron-pm

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Coronavirus: New Zealand braced for more variants after Omicron, PM says;
Updated: 2:50pm, 8 Feb, 2022
The Covid-19 pandemic will not end with the Omicron variant and New Zealand will have to prepare for more variants of the virus this year, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Tuesday in her first parliamentary speech for 2022.Ardern’s warning came as hundreds of protesters gathered outside the parliament building in the capital Wellington, demanding an end to coronavirus restrictions and vaccine mandates. Ardern’s government has enforced some of the toughest pandemic restriction in New Zealand for the last two years, as the government tried to keep the coronavirus out.
But it also angered many who faced endless home isolation, and tens of thousands of expatriate New Zealanders who were cut off from families back home as the borders remained sealed. The measures have also been devastating for businesses dependent on international tourists. Ardern’s approval ratings plummeted in the latest 1News Kantar Public Poll released last month, as the public marked her down for the delays in vaccinations and in removing restrictions. Hundreds of anti-vaccine mandate and anti-government protesters gathered outside the parliament demanding an end to all pandemic restrictions, part of a series of protests undertaken in recent months. The mostly unmasked protesters that converged on Wellington on Tuesday had driven from around the country, and their vehicles clogged the capital’s streets for hours as they got out to meet and speak on parliament’s forecourt. The government said last week that the country will reopen its borders to the rest of the world in phases only by October.Omicron cases in the country have been steadily rising since some of the social distancing measures were eased recently. New Zealand recorded its largest ever one-day case number with 243 cases on Saturday.
Ardern told Radio New Zealand that the country’s Omicron peak could be in March with daily cases ranging between 10,000 to 30,000.

#Covid-19#migrant#migration#nouvellezelande#sante#frontiere#circulation#tourisme#restrictionsanitaire

Coronavirus: Pakistan ‘sees 5th wave begin’; Singapore’s open-border resolve tested as imported cases soar | South China Morning Post
▻https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3161837/coronavirus-australia-pm-scott-morrison-monitoring-symptoms

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Coronavirus: Singapore’s open-border resolve tested as imported cases soar
Singapore reported more Covid-19 infections among travellers from abroad than local cases for the first time in nearly half a year, testing the resolve of the city state to keep its borders open amid the worldwide spread of the Omicron variant.There were 260 imported cases reported as of noon on January 1, compared to 187 community infections, according to data released by the health ministry. The last time Covid-19 cases among travellers surpassed local infections was on July 12.While Singapore has chosen to freeze ticket sales via its vaccinated travel lanes until late January, the business hub’s decision to maintain quarantine-free travel for vaccinated people from several countries, including omicron hotspots such as Britain and the United States, is increasingly being tested. Other nations including Thailand halted quarantine-free entry to prevent the spread of the new variant.So far, officials in the city state have also elected to tighten testing requirements for visitors and defer other travel initiatives, while keeping strict domestic virus measures in place, as local clusters of the Omicron variant emerge. Singapore is also depending on further vaccinating what is already one of the most inoculated populations in the world to fend off a potential new wave. About 20,000 children have received their first shot since the vaccination drive for them started on December 27, Education Minister Chan Chun Sing said in a Facebook post on Sunday.

#Covid-19#migrant#migration#singapour#sante#casimporte#vaccination#quarataine#omicron#grandebretagne#etatsunis

Japan’s pandemic-era isolation sparks concerns of rising xenophobia amid anti-foreigner backlash | South China Morning Post
▻https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3161122/japans-pandemic-era-isolation-sparks-concerns-rising-xenophobia

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Japan’s pandemic-era isolation sparks concerns of rising xenophobia amid anti-foreigner backlash
A campaign against non-citizens voting, amid claims ‘80,000 Chinese people’ could move to Tokyo, followed an unusual US embassy warning on racial profiling. The incidents are feeding worries that Japan is souring on immigration as it approaches a third year of pandemic-driven border closures and economic upheaval
From a ban on new foreign arrivals to a campaign against efforts to let non-citizens vote, a series of developments in Japan is raising new concerns about xenophobia in Asia’s second-largest economy.Lawmakers in the Tokyo suburb of Musashino overruled the local mayor on Wednesday and rejected a bill that would have allowed residents of other nationalities to vote on some issues. The decision came after several prominent Liberal Democratic Party legislators launched a campaign against the plan, with former Vice Foreign Minister Masahisa Sato warning on Twitter that “80,000 Chinese people” could move to the city and influence its politics.
Last month, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s government initiated new border controls that ban new entries by foreigners amid concerns about the Omicron variant of Covid-19. Separately, the US embassy in Tokyo issued an unusual warning on December 6 about suspected racial profiling of foreigners by local police – an allegation the government has denied.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s government initiated new border controls last month that ban new entries by foreigners.
The incidents are feeding worries that Japan is souring on immigration as it approaches a third year of pandemic-driven border closures and economic upheaval. The government’s ban on arrivals by foreigners who lack existing residency status was backed by almost 90 per cent of respondents in one media poll.“It’s not only in Japan that the pandemic fanned xenophobic sentiments, but this is a country with a long-standing tradition of insular nationalist conservatism,” said Koichi Nakano, a professor of political science at Sophia University. “Already before Covid, nationalism was exploited by some politicians to divert public attention away from real domestic ills that they did not want to deal with. But since last year, there has been an excessive, unscientific, and inhumane focus on ‘offshore measures’, such as the entry ban, by the Japanese government.”
Japan: now open to foreign workers, but still just as racist?While the island nation of 125 million has long been known for its hurdles to immigration, the government had warmed to overseas labour in recent years, because of the need to offset a shrinking workforce. The number of foreign workers in Japan more than doubled to 1.7 million in the seven years to 2020, many of them in the construction and service industries. A poll by national broadcaster NHK carried out in March 2020, before the pandemic took hold in Japan, found that most respondents favoured more immigration. The Tourism Agency still maintains a target of attracting 60 million foreign visitors in 2030.The ban on foreign entries also runs counter to the LDP’s stated goal of bolstering Tokyo’s status as an international financial centre by luring away global companies concerned about Beijing’s interference in Hong Kong. The number of foreign citizens living in Japan fell 2 per cent to 2.8 million in June, compared with six months earlier, according to the Justice Ministry.The response to Musashino Mayor Reiko Matsushita’s proposal to let some 3,000 non-citizens vote in local referendums illustrates the political forces against increased immigration. Matsushita told broadcaster TBS before the vote that she wanted “to make diversity into a strength and realise a multicultural society” in the city of 150,000.
“We’ll create a system whereby people have an opportunity to express opinions on important issues regardless of their nationality,” she said.
It is the people of the country, not foreigners, who have the right to make decisions 70 LDP lawmakers’ statement on proposed voting changes in MusashinoNon-Japanese are not permitted to vote in any local or national elections, by contrast with several countries in Europe, including Britain and Ireland. New York city this month also approved a measure allowing non-citizens to participate in local elections.Japan narrows the path to enfranchisement for immigrants by banning dual citizenship. Still, two other Japanese districts have ordinances similar to the one Matsushita proposed, while more than 40 allow foreigners to vote in referendums under certain circumstances.Besides Sato, who denounced the proposal as “no good”, a group of about 70 LDP lawmakers urged parliamentary action to prevent such efforts from advancing in the future. “It is the people of the country, not foreigners, who have the right to make decisions,” the group said in a statement.Kishida’s top spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno, declined to comment on the controversy. Meanwhile, with Omicron infections soaring globally and Japan’s daily Covid-19 deaths in the single digits, Kishida has little incentive to ease the border measures. He frequently mentions that the country’s clampdown on entry is the most severe among the Group of Seven nations and told reporters on Tuesday that existing border controls would stay in place for the time being.

#Covid-19#migrant#migration#japon#sante#pandemie#frontiere#etranger#nationalisme#immigration#politiquemigratoire#etranger

Coronavirus: Omicron variant fears prompt Australia, Japan, Philippines, Thailand to impose new travel curbs | South China Morning Post
▻https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3157590/coronavirus-omicron-variant-fears-prompt-australia

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Coronavirus: Omicron variant fears prompt Australia, Japan, Philippines, Thailand to impose new travel curbs. The restrictions are similar to those brought in by Singapore, Hong Kong and elsewhere after the discovery of the new variant triggered global alarm on Friday
Australia imposed new restrictions on Saturday on people who have been to nine southern African countries, a day after the Philippines made a similar move, as the new Omicron variant raises concerns about another wave of the coronavirus pandemic.Effective immediately, the Australian government will ban non-citizens who have been in South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho, eSwatini, the Seychelles, Malawi and Mozambique from entering and will require supervised 14-day quarantines for Australian citizens and their dependents returning from the countries, said Health Minister Greg Hunt. These restrictions also apply to people such as international students and skilled migrants arriving from countries with which Australia has travel bubbles, who have been in any of the nine countries within the past 14 days.Anyone who has already arrived in Australia and who has been in any of those countries within the past 14 days must immediately isolate and be tested.The Australian government will also suspend all flights from the nine southern African countries for two weeks.
Meanwhile, Japan said it would tighten border controls for the southern African nations of Mozambique, Malawi and Zambia, requiring a 10-day quarantine for any entrants, the Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.
The new rules, taking effect from midnight, come a day after Japan tightened border controls for those arriving from South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Lesotho.
The Philippines has also suspended flights from South Africa and six other countries – Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, eSwatini, and Mozambique – until December 15, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said in a statement on Friday night. Passengers who have visited any of these countries in the 14 days before their arrival will also be temporarily barred from entry, he said. Earlier in the day, the Philippines had announced the reopening of borders to tourists from what it considers low-risk areas, as part of an easing of restrictions after weeks of declining coronavirus infections.Thailand said on Saturday it would also ban the entry of people travelling from eight countries – Botswana, eSwatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe – from December.
“We have notified airlines and these countries,” senior health official Opas Karnkawinpong told a news conference. “Those that have already been approved to enter the country from these eight countries will be ordered to undergo an additional 14-day mandatory quarantine, starting now,” Opas said.People from other African countries who have already secured approval to visit Thailand will be subject to 14 days in hotel quarantine. No African countries are on a list of 63 nations eligible for quarantine-free travel to Thailand which started this month, Opas said.

#Covid-19#migrant#migration#afrique#australie#japon#philippines#variant#omicron#sante#circulation#frontiere#quarantaine#bulledevoyage

Coronavirus: Thailand among 6 countries added to Singapore’s quarantine-free travel lane | South China Morning Post
▻https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3157442/australia-investigates-new-covid-19-variant-found-south

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Coronavirus: Thailand among 6 countries added to Singapore’s quarantine-free travel lane. The city state also restricted travel from seven African countries after a ‘potentially more contagious’ Covid-19 variant was found in South Africa Scientists are concerned the new strain could evade the body’s immune response and make it more transmissible
Singapore on Friday extended its quarantine-free travel lane scheme for visitors vaccinated against Covid-19 to six more countries in a bid to regain its international aviation hub status.The inclusion of Cambodia, Fiji, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Turkey to the Vaccinated Travel Lanes (VTL) programme brought the number of nations the city state has such arrangements with to 27.The move came even as Singapore tightened border restrictions with seven African countries after the “potentially more contagious” B.1.1.529 Covid-19 variant was detected in South Africa.
The island nation currently has no cases linked to the strain.Singapore’s civil aviation authority said the 27 countries under the VTL scheme contributed to about 60 per cent of its total arrivals before the pandemic.
It added that Cambodia, Thailand, Maldives and Sri Lanka were popular tourist destinations among Singaporeans.Singapore still hoping for Hong Kong travel bubble, health minister says
24 Nov 2021Travellers from Thailand would be able to enter Singapore under the arrangement from December 14. Those from Cambodia, Fiji, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Turkey can visit two days later.With these new lanes, the daily quota under the VTL would be increased from 10,000 to 15,000.Transport Minister S. Iswaran told reporters that Singapore has to be “very mindful” of the evolving virus situation and that it was closely monitoring the emergence of new variants of concerns even as it looks to reopen its borders.“We must expect that in a dynamic situation like this, and with the pandemic evolving, that settings may change.”Singapore is seeing about 2,000 Covid-19 infections a day but authorities have pledged to treat the virus as endemic and would progressively open up given its high vaccination rates.

#Covid-19#migrant#migration#singapour#ambododge#fiji#maldives#srilanka#thailande#turquie#sante#frontiere#circulation#bulledevoyage#vaccination#frontiere#variant

Coronavirus: India reopens to foreign tourists after 20-month ban; | South China Morning Post
▻https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3156062/coronavirus-maori-tribe-tells-new-zealand-anti-vaxxers-stop

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Coronavirus: India reopens to foreign tourists after 20-month ban;
After halting tourist visas in March last year, India is now allowing quarantine-free entry to fully jabbed visitors from 99 reciprocating countriesIndia reopened its borders to mass foreign tourism, ending a 20-month clampdown as coronavirus infections across the country remain low and vaccination rates rise.After halting tourist visas in March last year, India is now allowing quarantine-free entry to fully inoculated travellers from 99 reciprocating countries. The government only requires such tourists to monitor their health for 14 days after arrival.Since last month tourists on chartered flights were already being granted entry and Indian authorities expanded that to arrivals on commercial flights on Monday.
Many Indians have already been flocking to domestic tourist hotspots in recent weeks, such as the western coastal state of Goa and the mountainous north, as a deadly second Covid-19 wave faded out after triggering peak infection rates of more than 400,000 cases a day in early May.
Families also gathered together this month to celebrate Diwali, the country’s largest festival, with new cases staying well below 15,000 a day.India’s immunisation campaign has also gathered pace, with more than a billion vaccine doses administered, and antibody surveys suggest that most Indians have already been exposed to Covid-19.While national infection levels have in recent weeks touched lows last seen earlier in the year, there are concerns that the easing of curbs risks a complacency similar to when India experienced an ebb between its two major waves.
The lowering of restrictions places the travel industry “in a very good position,” Rajni Hasija, director of tourism and marketing at the Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corp Ltd., said on a post-earnings call earlier this month. However, she added a note of caution. “The risk of the third wave is still not completely behind.”

#Covid-19#migration#migrant#inde#sante#economie#tourisme#frontiere#circulation#vaccination#mobiliteinterne#diwali

Coronavirus: Singapore official hopes for quicker Hong Kong, mainland China reopening; | South China Morning Post
▻https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3155634/coronavirus-singapore-official-hopes-quicker-hong-kong

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Coronavirus: Singapore official hopes for quicker Hong Kong, mainland China reopening;
Monetary Authority of Singapore chief Ravi Menon said strict border restrictions may impact business ties between the Asian financial hubs
Elsewhere, a government council said Malaysia will reopen its borders to international visitors by January 1 at the latest
Singapore’s central bank chief would like Hong Kong and mainland China to open up quicker and more decisively over the next year as their strict border restrictions may impact business ties between the key Asian financial hubs.“I would hope that China and Hong Kong will be able to open up faster over the next year,” Monetary Authority of Singapore managing director Ravi Menon said in a recent interview, responding to a question on whether the city state can gain from the different border situations.
As Singapore has strong ties with both, “not being able to travel to these places without considerable frictions, does stand in the way of strengthening our business links.”The divergence between Singapore’s strategy of living with the virus and the zero-Covid policy still pursued by mainland China and Hong Kong has become more stark in recent months.
Singapore and Malaysia agree to quarantine-free vaccinated travel lane
8 Nov 2021 While Singapore has been establishing several vaccinated travel lanes, including with the US and parts of Europe, mainland China and Hong Kong have stuck to strict border measures, notably lengthy quarantines on arrival.Earlier plans for a travel bubble between Hong Kong and Singapore had been shelved repeatedly as the cities saw a rise in infections. Eventually, Hong Kong said it will not pursue such a travel lane due to the two cities’ differing Covid-19 strategies.Hong Kong is instead prioritising opening its borders with mainland China first. Menon said that when Singapore opens up, it wants to strengthen links to all geographies, and both mainland China and Hong Kong are important parts of these ties.
China was the island nation’s largest merchandise trading partner last year, while Hong Kong and Singapore compete as key financial hubs in the region.“I’d very much hope that they would be able to open up more decisively over the course of next year,” said Menon. “That’d be good for Asia. That’d be good for Singapore.”

#Covid-19#migrant#migration#singapour#chine#hongkong#malaisie#asie#sante#frontiere#circulation#bulledevoyage#vaccination#politique

Coronavirus: Malaysia and Indonesia plan to open travel lane; | South China Morning Post
▻https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3155489/four-asiatic-lions-test-positive-covid-19-singapore-night

Coronavirus: Malaysia and Indonesia plan to open travel lane; Fully-vaccinated would be able to fly between the two nations next year
Libraries, museums and zoos in New Zealand’s biggest city were also allowed to receive visitors amid a pickup in vaccination rates

Malaysia and Indonesia plan to allow fully-vaccinated travellers to fly between the two nations, just days after a similar agreement was struck in one of the world’s busiest air routes.The Southeast Asian neighbours may start vaccinated travel lanes from Kuala Lumpur International Airport to Jakarta and Bali, according to a joint briefing by Malaysia Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob and Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo on November 10. The two countries aim to finalise and implement the plan early next year.“Reopening borders safely is important in balancing between the need to open up and revive the economy and take care of the safety and control aspects of public health,” Ismail said in a statement after the briefing. The arrangement will prioritise fully-vaccinated people travelling for official, business, medical or humanitarian reasons, he said.The initiative would mark Indonesia’s first vaccinated travel lane, and Malaysia’s second, as the Southeast Asian neighbours move to ease Covid-induced border curbs. Malaysia is also in discussions with Brunei and Thailand to provide more quarantine-free travel options, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said on Twitter.Malaysia and Singapore this week agreed to start a vaccinated travel lane from November 29. Malaysia’s rapid vaccination progress has allowed it to lift a ban on interstate trips for fully inoculated citizens, and the country is set to reopen the tourist haven of Langkawi islands to overseas visitors next week under a pilot project.

#Covid-19#migrant#migration#malaisie#singapour#frontiere#sante#circulation#vaccination#tourisme#economie#santepublique#business#circulationtherapeutique

Coronavirus: Singapore and Malaysia will launch a vaccinated travel lane between Changi Airport and Kuala Lumpur | South China Morning Post
►https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/3155220/coronavirus-japan-reopens-business-travel-students-singapore-launches

Singapore to open vaccinated travel lane with Malaysia on November 29
Singapore and Malaysia will launch a vaccinated travel lane between Changi Airport and Kuala Lumpur International Airport from November 29, allowing vaccinated travellers from each country to cross the border without the need for quarantine, the prime ministers of both nations said in a joint press statement on Monday. The city-state also rolled out quarantine-free entry for vaccinated travellers from Australia and Switzerland on Monday as part of a phased reopening of its borders that has seen quarantine-free travel expanded to nearly a dozen countries, including Germany, Canada, France, Britain and the United States.Singapore has been reporting more than 3,000 daily infections in recent weeks, although most are asymptomatic or mild. Over 80 per cent of Singapore’s 5.45 million population has been vaccinated.Last week, the US advised citizens against travel to Singapore and raised its alert for the city state to its highest risk level. Germany has also classified Singapore as a “high-risk area”.

#Covid-19#migrant#migration#singapour#malaisie#frontiere#sante#circulation#vaccination