China suspends more flights from US amid COVID-19 surge

China has now suspended 70 flights from the United States since the start of the new year as it seeks to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Beijing canceled six additional flights from the U.S. on Wednesday in response to the positive COVID-19 tests of passengers who had previously landed in China from the U.S., according to Reuters.

The flights being canceled include two United Airlines flights from San Francisco to Shanghai, which will be suspended as of the week of Jan. 2. 

Four flights on China Southern Airlines will also be suspended from Los Angeles to Guangzhou beginning the week of Jan. 31. This move will also impact return flight travelers, Reuters noted.

Before the pandemic, about 100 flights a week went between the United States and China, and prior to the recent suspensions, about 20 flights between China and the United States were operating every week, according to Reuters. 

China also suspended six flights from France and Canada on Wednesday.

China and the United States have been at odds about how to handle aviation limitations during the pandemic, Reuters noted.

After China imposed a 40 percent capacity limitation on flights from the U.S. on United Airlines, the Department of Transportation retaliated with an almost identical restriction on flights coming into the U.S. from China, reports Reuters.

China has effectively shut its borders to travelers. Only 200 flights a week enter the country from international locations, which is about 2 percent of pre-pandemic levels, according to Reuters. 

This is part of China’s strict anti-pandemic policy, which has curbed wider spread of the coronavirus throughout the country but has also disrupted the nation’s economy.