US, German Embassies in China Suspend Visa Services as COVID Infections Soar

A Chinese security guard gestures outside the U.S. embassy in Beijing on Sept. 12, 2020. Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images

U.S. and German embassies in China’s capital of Beijing announced on Dec. 15 the suspension of routine visa services due to the COVID-19 outbreak that’s being seen in other large cities in China, following dozens of countries that 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 Lunar New Year in January.

The recent outbreak started before the communist regime lifted its “zero-COVID” restrictions last month, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) emergencies chief stated.

Foreign Embassies, Visa Centers Suspend Services in China

On Dec. 15, the U.S. Embassy in China announced 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 canceled. The offices stated 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 beds?”

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

Chinese police officers stand guard outside the Canadian Embassy in Beijing on Dec. 10, 2018. Greg Baker/AFP/Getty Images

More than a dozen countries 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 Lunar New Year, the largest 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.

Migrant workers and their relatives are waiting for the train to go to Shenzhen at Yichang East Station in Yichang in China's central Hubei province on March 23, 2020. STR/AFP via Getty Images

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

According to mainland Chinese media, Henan Province, with its large rural population, has announced that it has entered the first level of preparations for a spike in COVID-19 cases. Authorities have canceled holiday leave for all employees in the health system in the province from now until the end of March 2023.

Infections Exploding Long Before ‘Zero-COVID’ Policy Dropped

World Health Organization Health Emergencies Program Director Michael Ryan delivers a news briefing on COVID-19 from the WHO headquarters in Geneva on March 30, 2020. AFP via Getty Images

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

He said 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 said.

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