China announced major changes to its strict Covid-19 measures for inbound travelers on Friday, reducing quarantine on arrival from seven days down to five, followed by three days of isolation at home.
More international flights will also be starting up and the “melt circuit break” mechanism – the major barrier to visiting China – will be cancelled, the State Council’s Covid-19 prevention team said.
Arriving travelers will now be allowed to enter the country after showing just one negative PCR test within the 48 hours before boarding. The threshold for a positive PCR test will be also be dropped, from 40 to 35.
An easing of restrictions was also announced within China, with the length of time spent in central quarantine for close contacts reduced to five days, instead of the previous seven.
However, the three days of home health monitoring which previously applied will be changed to quarantine.
Close contacts of people who have been in close contact with someone who tests positive will no longer have to undergo quarantine and medical surveillance.
Risk area classifications have also been amended, with just high and low areas remaining. High-risk areas will need to show five consecutive days of no new infections to be reclassified as low risk.
Lockdowns must be suspended in a timely manner once the low-risk criteria are met, according to the announcement.
Residents of high-risk areas will no longer have to spend seven days in a centralised isolation facility, with the requirement relaxed to the same period in home isolation.
The State Council announcement said Covid-19 testing will now only be conducted in key spots where cases have been detected. Previously, an entire region would undergo mass testing, despite no recorded outbreaks in the wider area.
The Covid-19 prevention team said the “unscientific” routine of having two or three tests a day should be adjusting.
Covid-19 testing should no longer be applied to an entire population by administrative area sectioning. Instead, the measure should be reserved for when the source and chains of infection and transmission are unclear. (South China Morning Post)
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