The People’s Republic of China has lifted travel restrictions, abandoning a three-year-long zero-tolerance policy, and the popular tourist destination has gradually opened up to travelers. Thus, the first international flights to the country resumed on January 8.
From now on, travelers heading to China from abroad do not need to submit medical certificates to Chinese consulates and embassies in their home countries, Reuters reported. To detect SARS-CoV-2, passengers arriving in China will undergo a nucleic acid test only 48 hours after their arrival.
As a reminder, the Chinese authorities have reduced the control and response measures to covid and now consider the disease as a class B infection, and not as a more severe class A infection, so quarantine requirements for those infected will no longer be observed. From now on, they will be isolated at their place of stay and receive appropriate treatment. In addition, the authorities promised to monitor close contact with the infected no longer. What else has changed? According to the changes, the regions will not be divided into “high” and “low risk” zones.
With the lifting of restrictions, long-awaited flights to China also began. For example, the first planes flew from Canada to Guangzhou in the south of the country, from Singapore to Xinjiang, and from New Zealand to Shanghai. The Chinese New Year is ahead, which begins on January 22. Traditionally, it is celebrated on a grand scale. Taking into account the holiday, it is expected that more than 2 billion trips will be made to the country. According to a statement from China’s Ministry of Transport and its forecast, after the easing of Covid-19 measures, the number of trips during the 40 days covering the period from January 7 to February 15 this year will increase by 99.5% compared to last year.