China lifts COVID restrictions for tourists
2022.12.26 15:42
China lifts COVID restrictions for tourists
Budrigannews.com – In a significant step toward easing restrictions on its borders, which have been largely closed since 2020, the National Health Commission announced on Monday that China will stop requiring inbound travelers to enter quarantine starting on January 8.
The health authority said in a statement that China’s COVID-19 management will also be downgraded from the top-level Category A to the less stringent Category B because the disease has become less virulent and will eventually become a common respiratory infection.
China’s economy has been harmed for three years by zero-tolerance measures, including frequent lockdowns and closed borders. This has contributed to the mainland’s largest demonstration of public discontent since President Xi Jinping took office in 2012.
However, China abruptly reversed its policy this month, eliminating nearly all domestic COVID restrictions, forcing hospitals across the country to scramble to deal with an epidemic of infections.
Five days of mandatory quarantine at a facility under the supervision of the government and three more days of isolation at home were the strictest requirements that had remained for travelers arriving from abroad.
On January 8, both the restriction on the number of passengers on international flights and that one will be lifted. However, the health authority stated that travelers entering China will still be required to undergo PCR testing 48 hours prior to departure.
The authority stated that arrangements will be made to make it easier for foreigners to visit China for work and business, as well as to obtain the necessary visas.
However, it added, passenger entry and exit at land and sea ports will gradually resume, and Chinese nationals’ outbound travel will be restored “in an orderly manner.”
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China had classified COVID-19 as an infectious disease in Category B since January 2020, but it managed it according to Category A protocols for diseases like cholera and bubonic plague, giving local authorities the authority to quarantine patients and their close contacts and lock down regions.
The National Health Commission stated that epidemic prevention and control protocols will be strengthened at key institutions, such as elderly care facilities, despite China’s downgrading of its management of the new coronavirus.
According to the authority, the establishment will implement so-called “closed management” to stop the spread of infections if an outbreak becomes severe.
Additionally, China will encourage second doses for individuals at high risk of severe illness and further increase the vaccination rate among the elderly.
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China is the last significant country to push toward regarding Coronavirus as endemic. Global supply chains and trade were disrupted as a result of its containment measures, which had slowed the $17 trillion economy to its lowest growth rate in nearly 50 years.
