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Telegraph
3 days ago
- Telegraph
The countries with the strangest entry requirements on Earth
Will there soon be a new hurdle when visiting Japan? Earlier this month, the country's media reported that Tokyo is considering introducing a requirement for travellers to prove they have medical insurance – and that they don't have a history of unpaid hospital bills – before entering the country. As one of the most popular destinations on earth, the Land of the Rising Sun has long had relaxed rules around tourism, allowing most Western nationals to obtain a visa upon arrival. But several cases of foreigners fleeing the country with unpaid medical bills has led to calls for a stricter approach. While compulsory insurance would create more admin for travellers, the new rule wouldn't make Japan too much of an outlier by international standards. For when it comes to entry requirements, there are plenty of examples of strange ones out there. Here are some of the most bizarre and extreme. Take a Covid test: Turkmenistan Keen travellers will shudder recalling the days when going abroad meant surrendering to cumbersome Covid testing rules and vaccine passports. But did you know there is one country that still requires international visitors to place a Covid swab up their nose upon arrival? It's true that the former Soviet Republic of Turkmenistan is hardly a holiday destination. And when it comes to strange rules, the country is practically synonymous with autocratic eccentricities – like renaming the days of the week at the whim of the president. But could there be some method in the madness on this one? Turkmenistan probably isn't the only country sitting on piles of unused flimsy PCR tests after the pandemic. But how many other countries have found a way of offloading them on international visitors at the princely sum of $31? Sign a climate pledge: Palau For understandable reasons, tiny island nations tend to take sustainability seriously. But in 2017, the Micronesian nation of Palau (population 18,000) took things one step further by requiring all international visitors to sign a special environmental pledge committing them to 'tread lightly' and minimise their carbon footprint during their time on Palau. As with a lot of climate stunts, the jury is out as to whether it adds up to more than just a clever gesture. But at least it leaves travellers with a nice talking point, given that the signed pledge is affixed to the pages of their passport as a novel souvenir. Pay $100 tourist tax: Bhutan Tourist taxes are all the rage in Europe these days. But the controversial charges levied by the likes of Venice and Amsterdam look positively puny compared to that of Bhutan, which has imposed a $100 daily fee on international tourists (excluding those from neighbouring India) to be payable on arrival. Unsurprisingly, Bhutan's 'sustainable development fee' (to give it its proper name) is the highest tourism tax in the world. Despite that, though, the country's prime minister, Tshering Tobgay, insists that the hefty charge is welcomed by adventurous travellers who come to marvel at the kingdom's breathtaking landscapes. 'Most tourists are delighted that they can play a small part – a small meaningful part – in the sustainable development of Bhutan,' he told a US news network this spring. Provide proof of parental permission: Canada In the era of widespread international travel, the abduction of children by a parent has become a serious problem, with countries around the world cooperating to stop spurned parents trying to take their offspring out of the reach of their ex-partner. That said, few countries take such a proactive approach to the problem as Canada, which advises that any parent travelling alone with their child (or children) bring a letter from their spouse proving that the arrangement is consensual. In theory, then, it's a clever safeguard against parental kidnapping. In practice, it's the sort of unexpected requirement that could also trip up unsuspecting travellers with perfectly innocent intentions. Leave chewing gum (and handcuffs) at home: Singapore Singapore's zero tolerance approach to chewing gum has been part of travel folklore for decades. What is less well known, though, are the similar prohibitions on Christmas crackers and (ahem) handcuffs, both of which are taken equally seriously. One benefit to Singapore's strictness is it presumably encourages travellers to check the bags – and the rules – carefully before their trip. Given the city state's extremely tough rules on drugs, including some prescription medicines, that is probably a good thing. Hire a tour guide (with one exception): North Korea Most people are aware that the only way into North Korea is to sign up for one of those tightly controlled propaganda tours which have become a fixation for a certain type of adventure tourist. But did you know there is an exception? For all its embrace of authoritarian socialism, the hermit kingdom actually contains a semi-capitalist 'special economic zone', where foreign investment is welcomed and entry requirements are considerably lighter for foreign nationals. Getting to the city of Rason isn't easy, given that you'll have to obtain a Chinese visa first and make your way to the North Korean border. But if you're looking for novel entry requirements, it must be one of the most counter intuitive on earth.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Covid testing demand surges as cases spike across Asia
(Bloomberg) – Demand for Covid tests is increasing in Hong Kong as cases surge in recent weeks, according to the top executive of diagnostic kit-maker Phase Scientific International. The Hong Kong-based company, which is a major provider of Covid testing kits in Asia Pacific, has seen business gain because of the Covid wave across Asia, Chief Executive Officer Ricky Chiu said in an interview with Bloomberg TV. Health authorities in densely-populated Hong Kong and Singapore have warned that Covid-19 cases are spiking, while data from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention showed the Covid wave in China is on track reach last year's summer peak. Shares of Covid test kit and drug makers in Asia have risen tracking a surge in infections. 'Covid is a seasonal thing,' said Chiu, adding that 'definitely there is a spike in the business.' Phase Scientific has also seen growth in its non-Covid testing business due to the pandemic, which made more people aware of the importance of at-home testing for other diseases, Chiu said. The company has developed the world's first urine-based human papillomavirus test, and is planning to expand that business globally. The company raised $34 million in Series A financing this week, the largest such round in Asia's diagnostic technology sector since 2019. (Updates with more details.) More stories like this are available on ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
BBC News
15-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Matt Hancock ignored call to test all NHS staff, Covid inquiry hears
The government ignored an early warning by two Nobel prize-winning scientists that all healthcare workers should be routinely tested for coronavirus in the pandemic, the Covid inquiry has advice came in a strongly-worded letter sent in April 2020 by the chief executive of the Francis Crick Institute, Sir Paul Nurse, and its research director, Sir Peter Ratcliffe, to the then health secretary Matt and care home staff were not offered Covid tests until November 2020 in England, unless they had symptoms of the Hancock is due to appear at the inquiry next week, along with other health ministers from the four nations of the UK. Giving evidence, Sir Paul, who won the Nobel prize for medicine in 2001, said it was "disturbing" that he did not receive a response to his concerns until July 2020."For the secretary of state to ignore a letter from two Nobel laureates in physiology or medicine for three months is a little surprising, I would say," he told the inquiry."Rather than acknowledge they couldn't do it, because that would have indicated a mistake in their overall strategy, they remained silent."It was likely that the decision not to routinely test NHS and care home staff led to an increase in infections and deaths in the early stages of the pandemic, he added. Hospitals and care homes In the first six months of Covid, there was a frantic drive to increase testing for the disease. Matt Hancock set a target of 100,000 tests a day by the end of April 2020 in this time it had become clear to scientists across the world that Covid could be spread by people who had not developed any symptoms of the disease, such as a cough or Paul Nurse, Sir Peter Ratcliffe and their colleague Dr Sam Barrell wrote to Mr Hancock on 14 April 2020 saying they had "grave concerns" about "asymptomatic transmission" between healthcare staff and patients."We advise you that all NHS trusts and healthcare providers should be required to set up surveillance systems for the regular testing of all healthcare workers and patients with immediate effect," the letter scientists received a response on 6 July 2020, signed by a junior official in the Department of Health. That reply did not directly address the subject of healthcare workers, instead stating that testing was a "key part" of the government's strategy and that capacity was being "rapidly expanded". Lighthouse labs The Frances Crick Institute, headquartered in north London, is one of the largest biomedical research centres in the Covid hit, a team of 300 volunteers started using the organisation's laboratory space and equipment to process Covid tests for dozens of hospitals, GP surgeries and care homes in the local had the capacity to carry out 4,000 tests a day and to increase that to 10,000 with more funding, according to Prof March 2020, he wrote to the government offering to help with the national testing ministers decided to set up a network of giant privately-run Lighthouse his evidence, Prof Nurse accepted that the larger sites were needed, but said "insufficient attention" was paid to universities and other publicly-funded institutions, which could have more quickly processed tests for healthcare sixth part of the Covid inquiry, which looks at the performance of test, trace and quarantine systems across the UK, runs until the end of May.
