China lifts Covid quarantine for incoming tourists

China on Monday announced that travelers from abroad will no longer be quarantined upon arrival, in one of the country’s most important steps towards reopening since the coronavirus pandemic began. head.

From January 8, incoming travelers will only be required for a negative polymerase chain reaction or PCR test result within 48 hours of departure, the National Health Commission of China said. Restrictions on the number of incoming flights will also be eased.

Travel restrictions have isolated the world’s most populous country for nearly three years. Foreigners have basically forbidden enter China in 2020 and even if they are allowed to come back a few months later, it is still usually only for work or family reunion.

Even some of the original Chinese nationals were unable to return home, and travelers allowed to enter must undergo comprehensive health checks and quarantine at their own expense – sometimes for as long as two months.

Monday’s announcement is the latest reversal in China’s “Covid-free” approach to the virus, which for years Beijing has sought to eliminate infections. But related policy harsh and prolonged blockade of hundreds of millions of people, crush the economy and stir up public discontent.

In November, after Fire kills 10 people In the Xinjiang region, with many suspecting that the Covid lockdown has hampered rescue efforts, protests have broken out across the country. It was one of the most powerful and widespread outbreaks of dissent in decades. During the day, the government begins to loosen restrictions.

Yanzhong Huang, senior fellow for global health at the New York-based Council on Foreign Relations, said the easing of travel restrictions “fundamentally signals the end of the numbers.” no Covid”. Although China has relaxed many of its Covid-free domestic policies this month — such as removing routine mandatory tests for urban residents and allowing home isolation for those infected disease — but China maintains its international restrictions.

The new measures However, that does not mean that China is expanding its borders. Many details are still unclear. The government has not said when it will resume issuing tourist visas – all visas valid at the start of the pandemic have been suspended. officials speak that they will “further optimize” foreigners’ ability to obtain visas for business, study or family reunification, without giving specifics.

Chinese officials also did not say how many flights would be allowed into the country. In November, the number of international flights to China was 6% compared with 2019, follow to the VariFlight flight tracker.

Officials said China would also allow its citizens to continue to travel abroad for leisure in an “orderly manner”. During the pandemic, the government stop issuing or renewing passports for Chinese citizens except in limited circumstances, and in May they said it would “Strictly restrict non-essential exit activities.”

The end of the international Covid quarantine was part of a broader announcement on Monday that China would downgrade its coronavirus classification. Previously, the government considered Covid-19 to be a class A infectious disease, on par with cholera or plague. Under that classification, officials had to introduce widespread restrictions to control the spread, including lockdowns and quarantines. In the future, Covid will be considered a category B disease, which includes AIDS and avian influenza.

That change will further formalize China’s shift from domestic Covid zero, Dr. Huang said. “Although the previous easing of restrictions took time for local officials to decide how quickly to reopen, Beijing is now signaling to officials,” he said. nationwide that they should prioritize economic recovery over disease control.”

However, it remains unclear how long international tourists will be willing to visit China and how much the economy will benefit from this. The recent easing of restrictions has led to a boom in infection. Many older Chinese are unvaccinated or only get two shots. The The number of infections and deaths is also unclear, when mass testing in the country has ended and China counts Covid deaths differently than most of the rest of the world. But reports of overcrowded hospitals and funeral Home widely disseminated.

At a news conference on Sunday, an official in Zhejiang province, home to about 5% of China’s population, estimated that there are more than a million new Covid-19 infections every day there.

Dr. Huang said that although China has been pursuing Covid-free for too long, he now worries that policymakers have moved too quickly in the opposite direction.

“I am afraid that mitigation strategies that are supposed to focus on the elderly and vulnerable will be pushed back,” he said.

The speed and shock of China’s Covid pivot was reflected on their social media platforms, where users greeted the news of Monday’s return with a mix of skepticism and excitement. encourage. Some celebrate that Chinese students studying abroad will be able to return to visit family more easily. Within minutes of the announcement, Chinese media reportSearches for international airline tickets on a travel platform have skyrocketed.

However, others say they cannot be satisfied with these changes, given the scale of the outbreak and deaths in China. Others noted that less than a month earlier, many major cities, including Beijing, were under lockdown.

Claire Fu and Amy Chang Chien contribution report.