service for all the relief over last weeks decision to begin dismantling the governments zerocovid policy there are fears that china may now pay a price infections are expected to rise further during the chinese new year holiday next month when people travel across country to be with their families a risk for a 14 billion population that lacks herd immunity after prolonged isolation under lockdowns and has relatively low vaccination rates among the elderly according to some analystsexperts say chinas fragile healthcare system could be quickly overwhelmed if those fears are realised the moves made last week to unwind the covid curbs included dropping mandatory testing prior to many public activities and reining in quarantine prominent chinese commentator hu xijin a former editorinchief of the nationalist state tabloid global times said beijing was now the epicentre of a rapid new wave of infections but the city had the resources to cope the speed of new infections is really astonishing and i believe that what we are witnessing here must be one of the most violent virus transmission speeds in the world since the onset of the covid pandemic hu said beijings envoy to the united states said on monday he believes chinas covid19 measures will be further relaxed in the near future and international travel to the country will also become easier china has all but shut its borders to international travel since the pandemic originated in the central chinese city wuhan in late 2019 international flights remain at a fraction of prepandemic levels and arrivals face eight days in quarantine financial hub hong kong announced on tuesday that transit passengers would be able to travel to the mainland after obtaining negative pcr test results 48 hours before departure rather than waiting for three days in hong kong hong kong also announced the scrapping of its mobilitytracking app governing access to gyms bars and restaurants and dropped a requirement for incoming travellers to avoid bars and restaurants in the three days after arrival china stocks edged lower on tuesday as a recent rebound triggered by reopening hopes gave way to concerns about spreading infections the yuan currency was little changed but it is already set for its worst year since 1994 when china unified the official and market exchange rates