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Due to the current situation of the COVID-19 pandemic, several countries and regions have announced to implemented entry restrictions and other measures. Let’s check the updates.

  

Countries to tighten entry measures 

 

• Vietnam 

 

Vietnam recorded one new confirmed case of COVID-19 on Monday, raising its total tally to 1,515 with 35 deaths, according to its Ministry of Health. 

 

In a recent directive, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc ordered competent authorities to limit inbound flights until the Lunar New Year festival as new variants of the novel coronavirus are spreading in many countries. 

 

 

• Japan

 

On Dec 28, Japan suspended entries of non-resident foreign nationals arriving from the majority of the world in a bid to prevent the spread of the new, highly transmissible coronavirus strain. 

 

The entry restrictions will last through the end of January, while Japanese citizens and foreign residents entering Japan from regions where the new strain of the virus has been detected will be required to submit a negative virus test prior to and after arrival in Japan. 

 

Business people and students from a few countries and regions including China and South Korea, however, are exempt from the latest restrictions. Japan and South Korea have a special scheme to ease travel restrictions.

 

Japan has already banned new entries by non-resident foreign nationals who have recently been to Britain or South Africa. 

 

 

• Cuba

 

Cuba reported three more deaths and a record 388 new cases of COVID-19, the Ministry of Public Health (Minsap) reported on Sunday. 

 

Authorities are associating the current rebound in cases in the country with the entry of travelers from abroad during the end-of-year holidays. The situation has forced the government to adopt new restriction measures in several provinces. 

 

Starting on Sunday, travelers arriving from abroad will be required to submit a health declaration and a PCR test carried out no more than 72 hours before flying. 

 

 

• Philippines 

 

The Philippines shuts its borders to foreigners arriving from 20 countries and territories in a bid to prevent a new strain of coronavirus entering the nation

 

The ban on travelers from places including Australia, France, Japan and Hong Kong comes as the archipelago braces for a post-Christmas surge in the virus that has infected nearly half a million people. 

 

The country has closed the borders to Britain in recent weeks and later announced to extend the ban to Jan 15. 

 

 

 

News about flights

 

• China-UK flights to remain grounded 

 

China will continue to suspend passenger flights from the United Kingdom, effective Monday, according to a news release by China’s Civil Aviation Administration on Sunday afternoon. 

 

The administration temporarily suspended regular passenger flights between the UK and China on Dec 28 to help curb the expansion of the coronavirus pandemic from the UK. 

 

Airlines are required to offer services to passengers regarding ticket refunds and alterations due to the suspension. 

 

 

• Flights to and from Shijiazhuang are suspended

 

Shijiazhuang, capital of Hebei province, has been put under a lockdown after the city reported the highest daily COVID-19 case numbers since the outbreak occurred in recent days. 

 

“All residents and vehicles are not allowed to leave Shijiazhuang and residents’ movements within the city will be limited,” Meng Xianghong, vice-mayor of Shijiazhuang, said on Thursday night at a news conference on epidemic control. 

 

Many flights to and from Shijiazhuang have been canceled since Thursday morning. Railway stations have stopped selling tickets, while long-distance buses are suspended. 

 

  

We will keep following the updates on China-bound flights and the latest entry policies. Stay tuned! 

 

If you have any questions about coming to China, please feel free to contact HACOS! 

In order to help you reach the latest update on the global pandemic situation, HACOS has set a quick link on the menu of our WeChat page. Follow us, you can check it whenever you want! 

 

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SOURCE | SilkRoadPost / China Daily / Xinhua / AFP

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Early this morning, Guangdong government announced that Guangdong will introduce “14+7” quarantine measures for inbound arrivals to further strengthen prevent and control COVID-19 pandemic. 

According to a press conference held by Guangdong government Friday morning, Guangdong will further improve prevention and control measures to guard against COVID-19 pandemic. 

 

As there are several cases that inbound travelers have been tested positive for COVID-19 after quarantine, Guangdong will strengthen health management and implement a “14+7” measure. 

WHAT IS “14+7”? 

 

• 14: a 14-day quarantine
  
• 7: a 7-day health observation
  

△ Shenzhen has implemented the “14+7” measures since Wednesday 

 

All inbound travelers in Guangdong are now required to undergo a 14-day quarantine in designated venues and then a 7-day health observation in communities. 

 

During the 21-day period, travelers are required to take four times of COVID-19 nucleic acid tests in total. They need to get tested on the first, seventh, fourteenth and the twenty-first day respectively after their arrival. 

 

 

WHAT’S THE SITUATION NOW? 

 

According to Huang Fei, deputy director of Health Commission of Guangdong Province, 2,065 confirmed cases, including 669 imported cases, have been reported in Guangdong as of Jan 7, 2021. 

 

△ Huang Fei, deputy director of the provincial health commission

 

A cured COVID-19 patient in Guangzhou was tested positive for the virus again on Wednesday but negative on the following day. Huang said this poses low risk of transmission. 

 

The patient tested positive after arrival in Guangzhou from the United Kingdom on Nov 14 and received treatment at the Guangzhou Eighth People’s Hospital. 

 

People with close contact with the patient and samples from the patient’s community all tested negative recently. The observation of the patient and people with close contact will continue. 

 

No infections by cured patients who tested positive again have been reported in Guangdong, Huang said. 

 

△ A screenshot of the official announcement about the above-mentioned case

HOW ABOUT THE VACCINE? 

 

Last week, China announced it has granted conditional market approval for its first COVID-19 vaccine. 

 

Nearly all key groups of people in Guangdong have received the first coronavirus vaccine shot, with 1.21 million people in the province having been inoculated. 

 

 

The groups include people handling cold chain imported food, workers at quarantine venues, cross-border transport drivers, and front-line healthcare and epidemic control personnel. 

 

Workers in the civil aviation and railway transport sectors will be prioritized in vaccination in Guangdong, as the country braces for the Spring Festival travel rush, Huang said. 

 

 

We will keep following the updates on the latest prevention and control measures against the pandemic. Stay tuned! 

 

If you have any questions about coming to China, please feel free to contact HACOS! 

In order to help you reach the latest update on the global pandemic situation, HACOS has set a quick link on the menu of our WeChat page. Follow us, you can check it whenever you want! 

 

Share to let your friends know!

SOURCE | 南方都市报 / China Daily / Shenzhen Daily

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A series of new policies and measures have now been or will soon formally adopted and come into force. Let’s see how they will affect your everyday life in China and check the updates of important news! 

– 01 –

Check Chinese official public holiday schedule in 2021

 

China’s General Office of the State Council has released the official 2021 public holiday arrangement. There are 7 Chinese festivals having a holiday for all citizens, according to the Regulation on Public Holidays for National Annual Festivals and Memorial Days. 

 

Next month, there will be a 7-day holiday for Chinese New Year (Spring Festival) from Feb 11 to 17. 

 

We have summarized the related info and make the calendar for 2021, you can click here or check the following link the get the full content. 

 

Related article: China’s Official 2021 Public Holiday Calendar Just Came Out! 

– 02 –

Tariffs to be lowered on a wide range of products

 

 

According to the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council, the country will apply provisional import tariff rates that are lower than Most Favored Nation tariff rates to 883 commodities, starting Jan 1, 2021. 

 

The above-mentioned goods include: 

• Foods 
• Medicines 
• Information technology products 
• … 

 

Most Favored Nation (MFN) rates are what nations promise to use with other members of the World Trade Organization, unless there is a preferential trade agreement. 

 

Related article: New Policies! China to Lower Tariffs Next Year 

– 03 –

China approves its first COVID-19 vaccine

China announced it has granted conditional market approval for its first COVID-19 vaccine during a Thursday news conference. 

 

The vaccine, developed by State-owned Sinopharm, was approved by China’s top drug regulator on Wednesday night, said Chen Shifei, deputy head of the National Medical Products Administration. 

 

 

The vaccine is generally safe and has a 79.34 percent efficacy rate according to clinical results released by the company on Wednesday. Strict supervision will continue to be carried out over the vaccine after its approval to ensure its safety and quality, Chen said. 

 

“This vaccine will be provided free of charge to all Chinese people,” said Zeng Yixin, deputy head of the National Health Commission (NHC), at the press conference. 

 

– 04 –

Foreigners are encouraged to invest more industries

 

China has significantly increased the number and type of items on its newly revised industry catalog to encourage foreign investment. 

 

The 2020 catalog involves 1,235 items, of which 127 are new and 88 are revised, according to the document jointly released by the Ministry of Commerce and the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). 

 

 

The new catalog added items such as the production of ventilators, ECMO and medical monitors, the research and development of 5G technologies, as well as integrated circuit packaging and test equipment. 

 

It also added items in the services sector such as high-end equipment maintenance, the restoration of digital production lines and distance learning, diagnosis and work from home. 

 

– 05 –

China to introduce foreign investment negative list in Hainan

China on Thursday unveiled the 2020 negative list for foreign investment access in Hainan free trade port. It will come into effect on Feb. 1, 2021. 

 

The negative list, jointly released by the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Commerce, introduces measures to promote opening-up in crucial areas, such as value-added telecommunications and education, expand commercial services, and to ease market access in the manufacturing and mining industries. 

 

Restrictions on foreign investment access to online data processing and online transaction processing businesses will no longer apply when the list takes effect. 

 

Foreign ownership limits for passenger car manufacturing will be lifted. Regulations prohibiting foreign investment in the exploration, mining and ore dressing of rare earth, radioactive minerals and tungsten will no longer apply either.

 

– 06 –

China to further facilitate tax payment

China’s State Taxation Administration (STA) released an announcement in December 2021 on the further facilitation of individual income tax (IIT) payment. 

 

According to the announcement, taxpayers who meet certain requirements are allowed not to prepay their individual income tax when their accumulative income of the current tax year is not higher than RMB 60,000. 

 

This method, effective from Jan 1, 2021, will apply to two types of taxpayers:

• Individuals who declare their salary incomes from the same employers each month in the last tax year, and their annual salary does not exceed 60,000 yuan. 
• Insurance salespersons or securities brokers who pay their income tax on a cumulative basis. 

– 07 –

It is easier for foreigners to exchange money in Shanghai 

Shanghai became the first city in China to launch a pilot policy that simplifies currency exchange services for foreigners. 

 

Foreigners who work in companies registered in Pudong district will no longer need to bring documents such as employment contracts, proof of income and tax completion certificates when they want to exchange their money in Chinese yuan to foreign currencies. 

 

 

For the service, all they need is a fast pass, which they can apply for at the district’s foreigner work permit office by filling out a Fast Pass on Foreign Talents Remuneration Foreign Exchange, which includes personal, employment and tax information. 

 

With the fast pass, foreigners can purchase foreign exchange at all banks in Shanghai without further verification for an unlimited number of times as long as the total purchases don’t exceed their legal income.

– 08 –

Corporal punishment at schools will be banned from March

The Chinese educational authority has recently issued rules to ban corporal punishment at schools. 

 

According to the rules, educators are forbidden to use improper approaches to discipline their students for individual violations, including: 

• Corporal punishment 
• Verbal abuse 
• Collective punishment 
• Other methods that could harm students’ physical and mental health 

The rules also clarified the conditions under which educators can exercise disciplinary measures, as well as the scope of the punishments. 

 

Students committing minor misconduct should only receive punishments such as writing self-criticism or taking part in classroom chores, said the rules, noting that more severe violations can be punished with approaches including being educated on school disciplinary policies. 

 

Only senior primary school students and above can be punished with class suspension, said the rules. 

 

 

– 09 –

Shenzhen offers one-stop service for expats

Shenzhen’s Employment and Residence Service Center for Foreigners was inaugurated at the Civic Center in Futian CBD last month, offering one-stop service for expats in working and living permit applications and cutting the processing time by half. 

 

Previously, foreigners working in Shenzhen needed to apply for work permits through the system of the Shenzhen Administration for Foreign Experts Affairs (SAFEA), and then apply for residence permits through the system of the Immigration Administration, which may took about 15 days. 

 

Now it is more convenient for expats. Applicants can get the work and residence permits in 7 days. They just need to submit one set of documents and apply once, without necessarily going between departments. 

 

 

If you want to know more about the latest policies and measures, or want to come to and work in China, please feel free to contact us! 

 

In order to help you reach the latest update on the global pandemic situation, HACOS has set a quick link on the menu of our WeChat page. Follow us, you can check it whenever you want! 

Share to let your friends know!

SOURCE | China Gov / Xinhua News / ecns / Shenzhen Daily

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