China Seals Borders to Most Foreigners Starting Saturday
- Foreign ministry calls it a ‘necessary and temporary’ step
- Move recognizes most new coronavirus cases are now from abroad
A man carries a kite along the Bund as skyscrapers of the Pudong Lujiazui Financial District stand in Shanghai on March 20.
Photographer: Qilai Shen/BloombergChina announced it will block almost all foreigners from entering the country starting Saturday, a recognition that most new coronavirus cases were coming from overseas now that the government slowed the spread of the disease among its own people.
Foreigners won’t be allowed to enter even with valid visas and work permits, the foreign ministry said in a statement late Thursday, in what it called a “necessary and temporary” step. Diplomats aren’t included in the order, and neither are people coming to China “to engage in necessary economic, trade, scientific and technological activities, and for urgent humanitarian needs,” it said.