Tokyo-Shanghai flight suspended over COVID-19 infections

Air China's Flight CA930 from Tokyo to Shanghai will be suspended for a week by China's civil aviation regulator following several imported COVID-19 cases.

The flight will be put on hold from August 29 after 10 travelers – or over 4 percent of the total number of onboard passengers – tested positive for COVID-19 on August 11, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said on Thursday.

The CAAC has loosened its flight suspension mechanism to boost cross-border travel amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the latest rule, an inbound international flight will be suspended for a week, rather than two as previously, if imported COVID-19 cases on board reach 4 percent of the total number of passengers.

The flight will be put on hold for two weeks if the number of infections reaches 8 percent.

The administration launched its suspension mechanism for international passenger flights in June 2020 to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

Shanghai reported three confirmed imported cases and three imported asymptomatic infections on Wednesday. Of all the 5,105 imported cases, 5,017 have been discharged upon recovery and 88 are still hospitalized.