The Quarantine time has been halved for those visiting China.
China’s Covid Measures Relaxed
China has relaxed its Covid measures for international travellers, for the first time since the outbreaks in Shanghai and Beijing prompted heavy-handed restrictions on travel. The news came in the National Health Commission’s latest guidelines, released today.
Under the new rules, arrivals into the country will only have to quarantine for seven days, followed by three days under house monitoring. The initial week-long quarantine takes place in a centralised government hotel, for which the travellers must cover the costs. The UK foreign office website also notes that you will be responsible for cleaning your room, and in some cases, arranging for food to be delivered, if meals are not provided at your quarantine location.
A Step Forward
Though the rules may not sound appealing to those of us in countries without restrictions, they are still a big step forward from the previous guidelines. Until today, travellers were required to spend two weeks in quarantine followed by a further week of home monitoring. And for Covid hotspots like Beijing, travellers faced an additional 14 days isolation on top of that.
The rules come as part of President Xi Jinping’s “Zero Covid” policy on pandemic measures. The draconian rules don’t just apply to travellers either. When Shanghai faced the country’s worst-ever Covid outbreak, the city’s 25 million residents were confined to their homes for over 60 days. Furthermore the CAAC’s strict sanctions on aviation had a devastating affect on the region’s freight industry.
In light of recent months, the easing of restrictions will be a welcome breath of fresh air to Chinese citizens.
What are your thoughts on China’s updated Covid measures? Let us know in the comments below!
