China has issued a travel ban to the US for its citizens and is blocking visitation from US citizens to China and its territories. Chinese officials stated that a recent World Health Organization statement condemning the US for "an epidemic of obesity" is primary motivation for the ban.
Chinese government health officials hope to reduce the risk of obesity infecting its population as prevalently as it has in the US. "During the SARS outbreak, we learned the value of being proactive and taking preventative steps," said Wu Xinhua, a government health official. "Restricting our population's exposure to this new, widespread obesity epidemic from the West is very important."
When asked why a travel ban was necessary when obesity isn't communicable, an unidentified government health official scoffed. "Of course obesity is communicable. One need only look at certain families to recognize that fat mother and fat father have infected their fat children with the disease. Why do you think obesity is a "growing epidemic" if it cannot be passed on from one person to another?"
"We think this misunderstanding is most unfortunate," said Greg Carlin, a representative from the US Dept. of Commerce. "We hope to clarify the situation with the Chinese government and get the travel restrictions lifted." When asked what the DoC was doing to address the problem long-term, Carlin replied, "We've instituted a ban on chili fries in our cafeteria."
Other countries reported to be considering joining the ban on US travel and travellers are North Korea, Malaysia, Cuba, and Indonesia. The WHO has not yet made a statement about the travel restrictions.
Yes, this is entirely fictional and not true in the slightest.
