China Tightens Rules On U.S. Visitors

Visa Application Process Prolonged Amid Flu Outbreak; Authorities Quarantine Americans

(CBS/AP)  China has tightened visa rules for citizens from the United States, which has reported the second highest number of H1N1 virus (swine flu) cases in the world.

A notice dated May 3 on the Web site for the Chinese Embassy and its consulates in the U.S. said that all visa applications would now require six business days to process, with express and rush services for visa applications suspended until further notice.

It is unclear exactly why the rules have been changed, but it came hot on the heels of strident measures by China to contain any possible spread of swine flu, including quarantining of some foreign nationals.

The American Embassy in Beijing said four U.S. citizens are now or have been quarantined in China due to swine flu fears.

Embassy spokeswoman Susan Stevenson said Tuesday two of the Americans were in Beijing while the other pair was in the southern province of Guangdong.

Stevenson declined to go into specifics of the individual cases, citing privacy reasons, but said only two of them remained in quarantine.

She said they were either placed under quarantine because of flu-like symptoms or because they were close to "cases of interest to the Chinese authorities."

The new visa regulation, effective as of May 4, appears to apply to all Chinese visas, including tourist and business categories. Visa applicants are also required to fill out a form declaring which countries and U.S. states they had visited two weeks prior.

Previously, U.S. nationals could obtain visas in as little as one day.

More than 1,400 people globally have been infected with swine flu, with Mexico reporting the most confirmed cases with 802. The United States so far has reported 380 cases in more than 30 states.

On Tuesday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu refused to address the specific visa changes for Americans, saying only that "relevant adjustment (to the visa policy) is non-discriminatory and is not targeted at any country. The adjustment of visa policy will not affect the normal entry of foreigners and exchanges of people."

The new rules do not appear to be in effect for any other country, including Spain or Canada, where swine flu has also been detected.

China has already earned the ire of the Mexican government for its aggressive quarantine measures after a Mexican traveler flying to Hong Kong via Shanghai was diagnosed with the illness over the weekend.

More than 70 Mexicans were quarantined in hotels and hospitals in mainland China. A plane chartered by the Mexican government arrived in several cities in China on Tuesday to pick up these and other Mexican citizens and take them home.

Mexican officials have accused Beijing of treating their citizens unfairly, but China has denied singling out Mexicans, saying it was purely a medical matter and that it hoped Mexico would be "objective and calm."

A group of 29 Canadian students and their professor were also being held in isolation in China.

Last year, China severely tightened visa regulations ahead of the Olympic Games in August as part of a wider security clampdown, and earlier this month, travel agencies in Hong Kong reported that visa restrictions were being tightened again ahead of the 60th anniversary in October of the communist nation's founding.

Last week, government spokeswoman Jiang Yu said the reports of changes to visa regulations were "groundless."

Meanwhile, Mexico on Monday announced a return to "normalcy," preparing to reopen businesses and schools even as the virus sickened more than 1,400 people in 20 countries.

World health officials said the global epidemic is still in its early stages, and that a pandemic could be declared in the days to come. But Mexico's president said it was waning at its epicenter, justifying Wednesday's end to a five-day nationwide shutdown he credits for reducing the spread of the new virus.

While Mexico slowly reopens for business, American officials remain hopeful (but cautious) that the worst is over.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said, "We have started to see encouraging signs that this virus may be mild and that its spread may be limited.

"We realize that this is not the time to rest; we are preparing fully," she said.

St. Francis Preparatory School in New York opened its doors yesterday, but more than five hundred schools across the country are still closed, leaving 330,000 healthy children sitting at home with an unscheduled vacation.

Although officials agree the strain looks very much like seasonal flu, they warn it could roar back during the fall flu season, reports CBS News correspondent Bianca Solorzano.

CBS Early Show medical correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton said, "Any time we've had a new virus - and it's already demonstrated that it's changed or mutated, it's adapted in its new host - there is always a chance when it comes back in subsequent or following flu seasons, it could be even stronger."

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2009 H1N1 Flu Outbreak Map:
This is a map depicting confirmed and suspected cases of the 2009 H1N1 outbreak, with contributors from all over the world, from a variety of backgrounds including health, journalism, technology.

[janieanddeb]

Is it because they are afraid that the Bird flu will mix with the swine flu. that seems to be todays scare. @What are the numbers of the bird flu deaths .
I think that this is real . I dont beleive any country wants to cut down on tourism without a real reason.

I moved out of a apartment to a house . I debated moving to a small twon anything to avoid being quarantined in a apartment . I carry hand sanitisers I wash my hands frequently and even change my clothes when I get home .

still I think too many of us cant get freaked out . I still remember the Y2 crisis . the most frightened I ever was 9/11 . If there really is going to be a pandemic It will be hard for the average person to be scared til the numbers are high or til someone they know dies.

Still I think the goverment is holding back imformation . the regular flu kills so many people that there has to be more than they are saying . Or maybe they are saying it and we are too burned out to hear it anymore .

[shyam8]

I have a simple solution. Just don't go to China. I will go to Taiwan. I ask all fellow Americans to do the same.

[wcreader]

Some has said "it is Better to be Safe Than Sorry later". seems correct. To save life, to save citizen's life regardless of which nations he or she is from, I think actions from the Taiwan, Hong Kong SAR and the Chinese government to quarantined any one who had direct contact with the deadly flu carrier are correct and it is the right thing. to do. To save life, they are trying their best to prevent the deadly flu from spread out any further. There is just NO evident that China is targeting only Mexican or American, indeed, they are tracking down and quarantine anyone, foreigner or Chinese citizen included whom may exposed to the flu. losting 100s of life at SARS is a painful lesson to learn. It is very irresponsible for some media to mixed up the effort of a responsible government trying to stop the spread of a deadly flu (save life or sorry later) vs for some media Just to high light nationality of a few quarantined person from Mexican or American out of 100s of other Chinese citizen. Better to be Safe Than Sorry later, It seems that there just some report that is just bias, negative publicity toward a country no matter what they, Just to make political attack whenever there is a chance?

[lovegetpeace]

Every year, the Normal Flu is caused by a Virus from China and it kills over 36,000 each year. Let's confine all Chinese tourists in America to GITMO.

[ayatoldya]

Considering in the past the majority of bird and swine flu have originated from China, the Chinese have every reason for caution.

[mjm117]

I wonder if the same people criticizing China for taking precautions are the same people who were yelling about Obama not closing our borders?

[vietnamwar]

WHAT WE NEED IS ACTION!!!

Posted by thedarkgod

TELL THAT TO OUR CONGRESS AND YOUR BOY.

[vietnamwar]

Why can we move our factories out ot CHINA, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE

[vietnamwar]

Nothing to see in China eside COMMI

[drputt45]

Jose, when you get to the river, keep going north. Do not turn left. If the river seems to be salty, turn around, that is the wrong way. That one is a very big river and the people on the other side talk funny.

[eatech]

What people do not know is China putting these laws into affect because their Doctors are not smart enough to be Doctors.

If Doctors in China are train in China they only have 5 years of training that includes book work, class room, and internship. They do not have Resedency for their Doctors.

Come on lets face it if a Chinese doctor will look at you and say that you are addicted to pain medican(the only pain meds that they have is Morphine, Demoral and Fentanal) when you have a broken arm or Gout or heart attack and you ask them to ease the pain then the Chinese Doctors are nothing but Quacks. My Daughter knows more about being a Doctor than they do. Frakk they think that tylenol is addictive drug how stupid can they get?

I recently had a problem where I had a heart attack with in the last few days, the Doctors treated me as if I had the Swine Flu they kept telling me that is what I had, I was put in isolation and given antibotics all the time I was having a heart attack. No matter what I said to them they kept treating me for the Swine Flu, I said my chest hurt, my blood pressure was high (they saw that everytime they checked it) that my hand was pins and needles and the side of my face was numb. I even had my Chinese girlfriend go and print out a sheet from web MD and she gave it to them and still nothing. She talked to the Doctor, the Administrator and nothing they said it was Swine Flu.

Finally she went to Hong Kong and paid a Hong Kong Doctor to come and look at me he did a EKG, Blood Test (C-K), and finally ct. What was it he found I was having a heart attack. The Chinese Doctors were Dumb founded and even though the EKG, Blood Test and CT proved them wrong they still said that I had Swine Flu. It is Funny they think that because they went to school to be a doctor that they are a God and no matter what you do or what proof you show them they are right and you are wrong.

So it is not the Chinese Government that is causing this problem it is the Doctors them selves that is causing this problem, they are all Quacks here. and the one thing that will make your jaw hit the floor is when you question them about why are you different from Hong Kong the government tells Hong Kong what to do they all reply "That is a different Country." I always thought it was one country?

[erasmus111]

I don't like a given person or a people who act so superior when they're not even average.

Posted by cockroachcrusher at 9:12 AM : May 5, 2009

Are you saying that because of what they are doing now, you think, that they think, they are more superior? The reason why they are going to such an extreme now is because they screwed up bigtime with the "SARS" epidemic. They don't want it to happen again.

[cockroachcrusher]

"Chinese doing the right thing"...tell that to the moms who fed their babies "melamine milk" , these are the same peolple who maufacture lead toys , inferior sheet rock...ask the Tibetans about the Chinese doing the right thing?
Posted by zorar2

I agree. The Chinese are exporting some of the worst manufactured items the world has ever seen. In the 70's it was the Chinese from Taiwan that exported expensive shirts with buttons that fell off after one washing.

Now, it's mainland China exporting everything and anything that falls apart, breaks or outright poisons you. At Target, I bought an upright reading lamp that, you guessed it, fell apart within weeks. I would not have bought it if I had known it was made in China. I can't think of
anything that I've purchased that was made in China that has lasted or at least not fallen apart and had to be put together again and again to get any use out of it.

Now they want to start exporting cars. Why? Quarantine those cars, don't let them on our highways.

China, you ain't no Japan.





I don't like a given person or a people who act so superior when they're not even average.

[erasmus111]

Funny, my dong's name is Guang...

Posted by gravypants at 8:18 AM : May 5, 2009

They say the internet is a great source of information. I seem to be finding out a lot about you. : )

[erasmus111]

"The new rules do not appear to be in effect for any other country, including Spain or Canada, where swine flu has also been detected. "

There are some Canadian students that have been quarantined in a hotel for 7 days. They do NOT have the flu.

[pepperwood2]

China Quarantines 2 Americans Over Flu........Embassy Says 4 Were Held But 1 Couple Released; Plane Arrives To Collect 70 Quarantined Mexicans

No need to crucify China for doing the right thing. How Can you be sure that Plane is arriving to pick up the Mexicans or bring in more IOU's from US. Maybe both!

[pugster]

Better that China reacts like this quarantine a couple of Mexicans and Americans or repeat the mistakes of the 2003 SARS outbreak.

[al2212]

Swine flu is coming from Mexico, not originated from China.........
Posted by jinjinliang at 6:25 AM : May 5, 2009

Let me get this straight for you
The scientific world thinks may be the very first swine flu case originated in China but here in the USA we had several SWINE FLU before. To mention 2 of them
a) In 1976 there was a an outbreak of an H1N1 swine virus in Fort Dix, New Jersey. Because of the handling of this outbrak some health top officials got fired
b) Wisconsin in september 2008 and here it is the CDC report to prove it.:
http://www.cdc.gov/EID/content/14/9/1470.htm

[al2212]

(continued)

........vaccine for the winter 2009-10 season in this country.

In closing, he notes that we have a vastly improved infrastructure to deal with novel emerging diseases:

The preparedness plans developed against the H5N1 influenza threat dramatically improved overall surveillance (we would probably not have learned so fast about the swine virus were it not for these improved capabilities). Major advances have been initiated by our government to develop new and improved manufacturing processes and exciting new vaccine and antiviral approaches are also in the pipeline, and they show promise of tipping the balance in favor of humans against a devious virus. For example, universal influenza vaccines (one long-lasting vaccine against all strains) and broadband antivirals are being developed in our academic laboratories and in innovative small biotech companies. This work has been primarily funded by the NIH and the CDC and it will pay off by diminishing the future impact of influenza on the health of our citizens and on the economy of our country. It is prudent to prepare against swine influenza, but equally important to keep a balanced outlook and an awareness of our current capabilities.

Coming from such a well-informed and experienced source, these arguments are compelling. Please pass them on to anyone you know who might be worried by the recent emergence of the new influenza H1N1 virus.

[al2212]

Yesterday everyone was Applauding the fact that 70 Mexican Nationals were quarantined,
now 4 americans and everyone is in an uproar.....
Posted by Azteca_Urbano at 5:21 AM : May 5, 2009

Well said !! Seems once again a case of double standards.

And now for the good news let me share this information I just read:

Why swine flu isn?t so scary

Peter Palese has written an excellent opinion piece for the Wall Street Journal on why swine flu is not that scary. His arguments may bring some comfort for those readers of virology blog who are worried about the impact of the new influenza H1N1 strain. Even if you are not worried, the scientific basis for his arguments are compelling and answer some of the many questions I have been receiving in the past week. I can?t think of anyone?s opinion on influenza virus that I value more - and it?s not just because I did my Ph.D. research in his laboratory. He?s an outstanding scientist with balanced, well-informed opinions. Herewith are some excerpts from his piece.

First, Palese reviews the concerns about the new H1N1 viruses:

1. The swine virus belongs to the same H1N1 group as did the 1918 pandemic virus.
2. The swine virus is readily transmitted from human to human. At this point, swine virus isolates have been reported on four continents. The avian H5N1 virus (another virus with pandemic potential) was never proven to readily transmit from person to person; rather, humans were probably infected directly from chickens and these infections required large quantities of virus.
3. The swine virus shows an unusual robustness in emerging outside the normal seasonal period for the virus. Influenza viruses are rarely isolated at the end of April in the northern hemisphere, and winter hasn?t yet started in New Zealand, where several isolates have already been reported.
4. Mutations and/or acquisition of genes derived from other human or animal influenza viruses could make the swine virus into something much more virulent than it is now. Mutations and acquisition of genes are natural processes for influenza viruses against which there are no man-made interventions. Furthermore, these processes (and the extent to which they could enhance virulence) cannot be predicted.

Next, he argues why we should be optimistic:

1. In 1976 there was a an outbreak of an H1N1 swine virus in Fort Dix, New Jersey, which showed human to human transmission but did not go on to become a highly virulent pandemic strain.
2. The presently circulating swine virus is most likely not more virulent than the other seasonal strains we have experienced over the last several years.
3. The current swine virus lacks an important molecular signature (the protein PB1-F2) which was present in the 1918 virus and in the highly lethal H5N1 chicken viruses. If this virulence marker is necessary for an influenza virus to become highly pathogenic in humans or in chickens, then the current swine virus doesn?t have what it takes to become a major killer.
4. Since people have been exposed to H1N1 viruses over many decades, we likely have some cross-reactive immunity against the swine H1N1 virus. While it may not be sufficient to prevent becoming ill, it may very well dampen the impact of the virus on mortality. I would postulate that by virtue of this ?herd immunity? even a 1918-like H1N1 virus could never have the horrific effect it had in the past. The most likely outcome is that the current swine virus will become another (fourth) strain of regular seasonal influenza.
5. The landscape of vaccines and anti-influenza drugs has dramatically improved over what it was just a few years ago. Based on what we know of the structure and sequence of the swine virus, these FDA-approved drugs and FDA-licensed vaccines (modified to include the swine strain) would be highly effective against this new virus. Also, present technologies as well as manufacturing capacities will allow us to make sufficient quantities of a swine virus vaccine for the winter 2009-10 season in this country.