A symbolic COVID-19 health passport is seen on a smartphone screen in Brazil . Illustration: VCG

A traveler was recently sentenced to one year in prison with a year probation for falsifying a COVID-19 test report to obtain a green health code, a required certificate before boarding flights to China, and then testing positive after landing in China.

The Chinese Embassy in Russia reported on Tuesday that it has discovered the illegal behavior conducted by the passenger, surnamed Huang, in December 2020, while the embassy was comparing the test data with the testing agencies.

Huang's behavior seriously affected Chinese epidemic prevention and control work, said the embassy, which reminded all travelers to comply with the regulations, obtain the nucleic acid and IgM tests accordingly, and to make sure the testing data is valid before travelling to China, as those in violation will be held accountable.

The Chinese Embassy in Zurich also reported on Tuesday that two individuals on a Swiss flight had attempted to modify their IgM tests results from positive to negative and tried to board plane to China while transferring at Zurich Airport.

These two passengers tested positive in their IgM results when conducting nucleic acid and IgM tests at Zurich Airport, and changed them to negative on a computer, said the embassy.

One of them was caught when applying for the green health code and failed to board the plane, and the other, who obtained the code, was asked to disembark before take-off after being caught faking the report, according to the embassy. Both of them have been repatriated.

"As the pandemic is still spreading in many countries, the mutated virus has increased the difficulty of pandemic prevention and control," read the embassy's report, which reminded China-bound passengers to arrange their schedule in advance in the event of any emergencies, such as testing positive for COVID-19 at airports. 

Global Times