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US, German Embassies in China Suspend Visa Services as COVID Infections Soar
epoch times ^ | 17 December A.D. 2022 | Alex Wu

Posted on 12/17/2022 8:11:22 PM PST by lightman

U.S. and German embassies in China’s capital of Beijing announced on Dec. 15 the suspension of routine visa services due to the city’s COVID-19 outbreak that is also being seen in other large cities in China, following dozens of countries who have already suspended their visa applications in China.

Meanwhile, concerns have been rising that the COVID-19 outbreak in Beijing will spread to the countryside during travel for the Chinese new year in January.

The recent outbreak started before the communist regime lifted its “zero-COVID” restrictions last month, the World Heath Organization’s (WHO) emergencies chief noted. Foreign Embassies and Visa Centers Suspend Services in China

The U.S. Embassy in China announced on Dec. 15 on its website that due to the surge in COVID infections across China, all routine visa services have been suspended except for some pre-scheduled visa services in the Shanghai Consulate. All regular appointments at the Beijing embassy and other Consulates General have been cancelled. The offices said that only passport and emergency citizen and consular services would continue to be provided.

The German embassy in Beijing also announced that due to the epidemic situation in Beijing, its consular office and visa office will be closed until Jan. 6, 2023.

German ambassador to China Patricia Flor expressed concern about the medical capacity of mainland China on Dec. 15, “We don’t know, are there enough intensive care unit (ICU) beds?”

She warned, “Nobody is really prepared, mentally, for this situation. So we cannot be excluded. There will be further disruptions here.”

More than a dozen countries had already closed their visa centers in China in late November.

VFS Global, authorized by many countries’ governments to provide visa services in China, temporarily closed their visa centers for some countries in Beijing from Nov. 22 until further notice. Those countries include: Austria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, and others.

Concerns for COVID-19 Spread as Holidays Near

The Chinese lunar New Year, the biggest holiday in China, falls on Jan. 22, 2023, and the Chinese countryside expects massive influxes of people returning home as well as tourists as the holiday approaches. However, rural China has had little exposure to the various strains of the COVID-19 virus in the past three years, prompting concerns about a large wave of infections and deaths.

China’s national health commission said on Dec. 16 that it was ramping up vaccinations and stocking up on ventilators, essential medicines, and testing kits in rural areas. It is also advising Chinese new year travelers to reduce their contact with elderly relatives.

According to mainland Chinese media, Henan Province, with a large population whose majority are in the countryside, has announced that it has entered the first level of preparations for a spike in COVID-19 cases. Authorities have cancelled holiday leave for all employees in the health system in the province from now until the end of March next year.

Infections Exploding Long Before ‘Zero-COVID’ Policy Dropped

Michael Ryan, the WHO emergencies chief, said at a press briefing on Dec. 14 that COVID-19 infections were exploding in China well before the Chinese regime abandoned its strict “zero-COVID” policy.

He said that there’s a false perception going around about China’s COVID-19 situation.

“There’s a narrative at the moment that China lifted the restrictions and all of a sudden the disease is out of control.”

He pointed out that the lifting of restriction in China is not the cause of the infection surge but a response to it, as it happened way before.

“The disease was spreading intensively because I believe the control measures in themselves were not stopping the disease,” he said. “And I believe China decided strategically that was not the best option anymore.”


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: beijing; china; covid1984; fearporn
Keep ginning up the fear, China.

You've already succeeded in getting the Germans to goose-step along.

1 posted on 12/17/2022 8:11:22 PM PST by lightman
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To: lightman

Germans must be STUPID. From article, “The recent outbreak started before the communist regime lifted its “zero-COVID” restrictions last month. “

CHINA called this outbreak flu like or like a cold. What are the STUPID Germans doing? More Fear Porn from Eurotrash and Euroweenies.


2 posted on 12/17/2022 8:26:17 PM PST by OHPatriot (Si vis pacem, para bellum)
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To: OHPatriot

TPTB are hoping to create such a climate of fear that:

1) the sheeple will clamor for masks and lockdowns

and

2) the sheeple will clamor for “vaxxports”

and

3) dutifully line up for more depopulation “boo$ter$”


3 posted on 12/17/2022 8:32:02 PM PST by lightman (I am a binary Trinitarian. Deal with it!)
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To: lightman

But not for illegals


4 posted on 12/17/2022 8:52:09 PM PST by inchworm (al )
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To: lightman
Sounds like a repeat of taking control of travel and we all know what follows as it did when covid was first spanning the world. So don't be surprised....must be THEY need another run to get everyone compliant who isn't now.
5 posted on 12/17/2022 9:37:44 PM PST by caww (O death, when you seized my Lord, you lost your grip on me......Augustine)
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To: caww

6 posted on 12/17/2022 9:47:34 PM PST by lightman (I am a binary Trinitarian. Deal with it!)
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To: All

There is entirely too much reading of some fringe story and extrapolating it.

For example, have a look here: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/japan/

and tell yourself no one is dying. They are masked and vaxed thoroughly and the virus doesn’t care.

And don’t start waving your hands over your head about fear. The virus doesn’t care if you are afraid or not, so there’s no point in being afraid.

What there IS point in doing is NEVER, as in NEVER, go near elderly people — assuming you don’t want to be a murderer. If one is walking down the sidewalk, and isn’t good at walking, then cross the damn street and get away from him.

That onus is on you, the young person. Not on him or her. And don’t decide that they need to be locked down so you can walk down the sidewalk. It’s not about you. It’s about them. They are the ones at risk. Not you. Their risk is death. Yours is murder. Don’t pretend it isn’t.

BTW, when was there a formal national announcement from China that they were not going to pursue procedures to minimize Covid to as close to zero as they can? I see reporters noticing some procedure got lax and the reporter, not the government, decided there was a change of policy. I see no announcement. The reporter is probably trying to goose Wall Street and doesn’t give a damn about death counts.


7 posted on 12/17/2022 11:26:50 PM PST by Owen
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To: lightman
--- "Keep ginning up the fear, China."

While the media is portraying "surge" and "soar" vocabulary as a substitute for data, here is "official" data.

As of today, 18 December, 2022 --

16,348 deaths in China over three years -- Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center

Source: https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/region/china

Or -- 17,082 reported deaths as of 8 December -- Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington

Source: https://covid19.healthdata.org/china?view=mask-use&tab=trend

UMHE says "After December 16, 2022, IHME will pause its COVID-19 modeling for the foreseeable future."

Or -- 5,235 deaths -- Worldometer

Source: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/china/

Statista's data reporting is incomplete

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1092918/china-wuhan-coronavirus-2019ncov-confirmed-and-deceased-number/

China is not the only entity "ginning up gear," as another post on this thread says "It's not about you. It's about them. They are the ones at risk. Not you. Their risk is death. Yours is murder. Don't pretend it isn't."

The worldwide mortality rate from this deadly, awful, horrible "event" over three years is 0.085 percent. Less than one-tenth of one percent over three years. Over three full years.

The Epoch Times article reports other nations -- Germany and the US among them -- ginning up fear. Fear! Fear! Fear!

An interesting correlation between Covid -- Schwab's "opportunity" -- and other "crises" is that the central facet to media is FEAR. Or as a silly comment said, "murder."

8 posted on 12/18/2022 4:21:23 AM PST by Worldtraveler once upon a time (Degrow government)
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To: lightman
All I know is since China closed their airline transfer hubs my biannual Asia trips have seized because flights transferring in the mid east now cost 4 times as much!!... (...pout...)
9 posted on 12/18/2022 4:29:55 AM PST by sit-rep ( )
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To: lightman

This is what happens after harsh lockdowns that suppress natural herd immunity.


10 posted on 12/18/2022 5:27:10 AM PST by Rennes Templar (Come back, President Trump.)
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To: Owen
That onus is on you, the young person. Not on him or her. And don’t decide that they need to be locked down so you can walk down the sidewalk. It’s not about you. It’s about them. They are the ones at risk. Not you. Their risk is death. Yours is murder. Don’t pretend it isn’t.

In no civilized, sane society should the young be made to sacrifice for the old. The burden is on the hypochondriacal elderly to keep themselves safe, if they have concerns or fears of some sidewalk miasma.

Old people die. That's what it means to be old. I say that as someone who's pretty old himself.

11 posted on 12/18/2022 6:09:35 AM PST by DSH
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To: lightman

Lock downs only save it for later


12 posted on 12/18/2022 6:21:28 AM PST by butlerweave
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To: DSH

The virus does not care about society or anyone’s view of civilized. Why would you think such an approach would reduce premature deaths?


13 posted on 12/18/2022 7:35:04 AM PST by Owen
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To: lightman

This is what happens after harsh lockdowns that suppress natural herd immunity.


14 posted on 12/21/2022 1:18:46 PM PST by Rennes Templar (Come back, President Trump.)
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