US Embassy in China Suspends Most Regular Services Due to COVID-19
Residents wait at the observation area during a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccination session for those aged between 12 and 14, in Heihe, Heilongjiang province, China August 3, 2021.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – US diplomatic missions in China temporarily suspended most of their services due to the adverse COVID-19 pandemic situation in the country, the US Embassy in Beijing said.
"Due to the operational impacts caused by the surge of COVID-19 infections across China, U.S. Embassy Beijing and U.S. Consulate General Shanghai are providing passport and emergency citizen services only. U.S. Consulates General Wuhan, Shenyang, and Guangzhou will only be providing emergency consular services until further notice," the embassy said in a statement on WeChat on Thursday.
All routine visa services at the US Consulate General in Shanghai are temporarily suspended, while all regular appointments at the US Embassy in Beijing and the other Consulates General have been canceled, the statement read. The embassy did not specify when operations would resume. In November, China saw a record increase in local COVID-19 outbreaks. Due to the deterioration of the epidemiological situation, the authorities introduced partial lockdowns in some areas while also forcing their residents to undergo PCR testing on a daily basis. In particular, starting from November 24, restrictive measures were tightened in a number of China’s major cities, including Beijing and Shanghai.
