China Ends Travel COVID-19 Quarantine for International Arrivals

By Staff, Agencies

China says it will drop quarantine requirements for international arrivals from January, in an abrupt decision to reopen its borders after almost three years.

China’s National Health Commission said in a statement on Monday that it would stop requiring inbound travelers to go into quarantine starting from January 8.

It said travelers to the mainland would only need to show a negative COVID-19 test from the last 48 hours.

While on the flight, passengers would need to still wear a face mask, the announcement said.

The scrapping of travel restrictions will also allow Chinese citizens to travel overseas.

The health commission also said that Beijing would downgrade COVID-19 to a class B infectious disease from the current top-level category A.

Despite downgrading its management of the coronavirus, the commission said epidemic prevention and control protocols at key institutions such as elderly care institutions would be strengthened. Authorities will also further increase the vaccination rate among the elderly, and promote second doses among people at high risk of severe illness.

China sealed its borders in March 2020, forcing inbound travelers to the mainland to quarantine, typically at a designated hotel and for 14 days. Foreigners had also been largely banned from entering China even as the rest of the world reopened and moved on from the pandemic. China is the last major country to move toward treating COVID as endemic.