COVID-19 Update: China’s Air Passenger Numbers Recover

• There were 2,397,216 confirmed cases (83,006 new) globally, and 162,956 people (5,109 new) have lost their lives by 10:00 CET April 21, according to the daily COVID-19 situation report released by the World Health Organization.
• The Chinese mainland reported 30 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 Tuesday, according to the National Health Commission on April 22. And 23 of them were imported cases, bringing the total number of its kind to 1,610. Also, on Tuesday, 42 new asymptomatic COVID-19 cases were reported on the mainland.
• Xinhua reported that China's air passenger numbers have recovered to nearly one-third of the level seen in the same period last year, as the novel coronavirus epidemic wanes. Some cities lift transport restrictions, the country's top civil aviation authorities said Wednesday.
• According to the regular press conference of the Foreign Ministry on April 21, as COVID-19 is spreading around the globe, "G77 and China" made a point by issuing a statement to approve and support WHO's leading role in fighting the pandemic under the leadership of Director-General Tedros and call on the international community to strengthen support for developing countries, which reflects the common position and collective appeal of developing countries. 

Xinhua reported that China's air passenger numbers have recovered to nearly one-third of the level seen in the same period last year, as the novel coronavirus epidemic wanes. Some cities lift transport restrictions, the country's top civil aviation authorities said Wednesday. China's air traffic has been steadily recovering since late February. Daily air passenger numbers hit 458,300 in March, surging 69.8 percent over February, Jin Junhao, an official with the Civil Aviation Administration of China, told a press conference. Air traffic continued to rebound in April. As of Tuesday, daily passenger numbers had risen to 494,400, up 7.9 percent from March and about one-third of the level of the same period last year. The number of flights had jumped to 6,586 per day, exceeding 40 percent of the volume of the same period a year ago.

There were 2,397,216 confirmed cases (83,006 new) globally, and 162,956 people (5,109 new) have lost their lives by 10:00 CET April 21, according to the daily COVID-19 situation report released by the World Health Organization (WHO). According to the report, no new country/territory/area reported cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours.

The Chinese mainland reported 30 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 Tuesday, according to the National Health Commission (NHC) April 22. And 23 of them were imported cases, bringing the total number of its kind to 1,610. Also, on Tuesday, 42 new asymptomatic COVID-19 cases were reported on the mainland. At the same time, one was confirmed to be infected with the virus, and 42 were discharged from medical observation, according to the NHC. A total of 991 asymptomatic-infected patients were still under medical observation. The overall confirmed cases on the mainland had reached 82,788 by the end of Tuesday, including 1,005 patients who were still being treated, altogether 77,151 patients who had been discharged after recovery, and 4,632 people who died of the disease. By Tuesday, 1,029 confirmed cases, including four deaths, had been reported in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), 45 confirmed cases in the Macao SAR, and 425 in Taiwan, including six deaths. A total of 650 patients in Hong Kong, 24 in Macao, and 217 in Taiwan had been discharged from hospitals after recovery.

At the regular press conference on April 21, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang mentioned "G77 and China" is an important international coordination mechanism for developing countries to seek strength through unity. According to the regular press conference, as COVID-19 is spreading around the globe, "G77 and China" made a point by issuing a statement to approve and support WHO's leading role in fighting the pandemic under the leadership of Director-General Tedros and call on the international community to strengthen support for developing countries, which reflects the common position and collective appeal of developing countries.  "This is significant to deepening multilateral cooperation and making a collective response to the pandemic," said the spokesperson. Moreover, other countries like France, Germany, the UK, Canada, Japan as well as international organizations and institutions like the UN and the EU have all expressed their support for WHO in continuing to play an important role in responding to the current pandemic and strengthening the global public health system.