China tells families to ‘stock up’ amid new outbreak; Japan cases dramatically decline
Moscow is currently under its strictest lockdown measures in more than a year
In China, a notice posted on the website of the Ministry of Commerce late Monday urged “families to store a certain amount of daily necessities as needed to meet daily life and emergencies” while instructing authorities to take steps to ensure adequate food supplies, AFP reports.
The country is adopting increasingly tight measures and a Covid-zero strategy to contain its latest outbreak. The directive made no mention of a food shortage or of whether the instructions were motivated by fears that Covid measures could disrupt supply chains or leave locked-down citizens in need of food.
Meanwhile in neighbouring Japan, restrictions on mass gatherings have been relaxed and the nation is poised to reduce quarantine for business travellers following a dramatic decline in cases of Covid-19.
Vaccinated people arriving for business will have to self-quarantine for three days, rather than the current 10, according to public broadcaster NHK, which added that the change could come as early as Monday. The country’s cap on international arrivals will increase from 3,500 a day to 5,000, it added.
Eastern Europe is grappling with its worst outbreak since the pandemic started. Moscow is currently under its strictest lockdown measures in more than a year as the daily tally of cases and deaths nationwide hit new highs.
But many Russians have decided that now is an ideal time to fly off for a foreign holiday, with a sharp increase in bookings to destinations where Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine is recognised or where Covid entry requirements are cheap and easy.
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