Covid-19 isn’t just a health and economic crisis. The corona crisis has also caused thousands of Chinese people, who have been living and working in Spain for years, to leave en masse and return to their home country.
Chinese residents of Spain go back to get the vaccine in China
This return is temporary in nature. The Chinese residents will return to China for a short period to get vaccinated. And then they plan to return to Spain to resume their business. Some of which had to close due to the corona pandemic. These Chinese entrepreneurs were among the first to close their stores at the start of the pandemic. This was because of warnings they received about the virus from China.
Richer Chinese people have already left Spain
The first Chinese – the most wealthy of this population group – have already left Spain. In doing so, they must comply with a series of strict requirements set by the Chinese government. In addition to the price of a plane ticket, €700 per person must be paid per person. This is for the hotel where they must be quarantined for two weeks after arriving in China. Furthermore, they will spend another seven days in quarantine in a hotel in their own city. And finally, a seven-day home quarantine is also obligatory. Here they are regularly checked whether they are complying.
Extreme measures to return to China
According to Chairman Lizhong Zhou of the Chinese Trade Association in Valencia, in addition to all these measures and costs, at least five more PCR tests will be conducted before people in China are allowed outside and before they are eligible for vaccination. A Chinese trader with a shop in Barcelona has already returned to China and tells Niusdiario.es that everything is very well organised. In China, it does not matter where you live. As long as you have a Chinese passport you will receive the vaccine immediately and for free.
Not all Chinese come back to Spain immediately
Many Chinese from Spain will stay a little longer in China after their vaccination. The Chinese trade association in Valencia reports that this is due to little or no support at all for the hospitality sector in Spain. Since many Chinese in Spain work in this sector, it is currently more attractive to look for work in China until the situation has improved.
Fewer infections among the Chinese population in Spain
According to figures from the Chinese community in Spain, the number of infections and deaths from Covid-19 is much lower among the Chinese than the Spanish population. Generally speaking, the Chinese quickly took precautions in their own business but also in private: “As soon as the pandemic started in China, we started wearing mouth masks and we reduced our contacts with others. Since then, we have been following all security measures very closely. “
