Time.news – China has lifted the quarantine obligation for travelers from abroad, which has been in force for three years. The measure fits into the framework of the abrupt end to the strict restrictions imposed by Beijing to stem the spread of Covid-19, a drastic easing that has led to a spike in infections.
From Sunday those arriving in China from abroad he will therefore no longer have to spend a period of isolation in the appropriate hotels which, in March 2020, had been set at three weeks, to then drop to seven days last summer and to five days last November.
The draconian measures imposed by the Chinese authorities had led to a sharp slowdown in the economy and growing popular protests. The lifting of the quarantine was announced last month, prompting many citizens of the former celestial empire to plan trips abroad, with a boom in bookings on specialized sites.
However, the prospect of a massive influx of Chinese tourists has led several countries to impose tests on travelers arriving from the Asian country. Beijing has branded these precautions as “unacceptable” despite having closed its borders to foreign tourists and international students for much of 2020.
It is expected that in China the infections are destined to increase again at the end of Januarywhen millions of people will leave the megacities to go to the countryside to visit relatives, often elderly and vulnerable, on the occasion of the Chinese New Year.
Beijing also announced that it will free those who have been arrested in the past three years for violating the restrictions against the Covid-19, following the abrupt relaxation of the strict health measures imposed during the pandemic.
The government has called on local governments, courts, law enforcement and customs units to put an end to the judicial proceedings relating to the violation of the restrictions, on the day that sees the quarantine obligation lifted both for those arriving in China from abroad and for residents.
The Beijing authorities therefore urged the suspects arrested for violating health measures to be released “in a timely and appropriate manner” and invited the local authorities to follow “a policy of tolerance and non-punitive”.
The Chinese National Health Commission announced on December 26 the downgrading of Covid-19 from a class A infectious disease to a class B infectious disease. The official definition thus changes from “new coronavirus pneumonia” to “new coronavirus infection”. The Commission also reported that “daily information on the epidemic will no longer be disseminated”. The China Center for Disease Control and Prevention will only collect data for “reference and research” and provide updates on a monthly basis.
It was also normal passenger traffic restored between China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. With the lifting of the anti-Covid restrictions, the crossings between the island and the city of Shenzen are gradually being reopened.
According to the Hong Kong administration, about 60,000 residents of the island will travel to mainland China every day, 50,000 of them via the three land access points. Others will be able to use ferries, planes or the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao bridge.