Despite the blast wave of Covid, China ends quarantines for international travellers

China on Sunday lifted mandatory quarantines for international travelers arriving on its territory, ending nearly three years of self-isolation despite the country battling a new explosion of infections.

Beijing last month began dismantling its restrictive zero-covid strategy of lockdowns, mass testing and quarantines, which has helped contain the virus but also slowed the economy and sparked major protests.

This Sunday, the first travelers to arrive showed their relief at not having to go through these mandatory quarantines.

At Shanghai Pudong International Airport, a woman named Pang told AFP she was very excited about the change.

“It’s a necessary step, I think. The covid has normalized now and after these obstacles, everything will be easy,” he said.

Three years of severe measures

Since March 2020, people have been entering the Asian giant they had to isolate themselves in government facilities, first for a three-week period which was shortened to five days in November.

After the announcement of the end of this measure, the Chinese rushed to buy trips abroad.

The expected rebound in visitors has led many countries to impose mandatory covid-19 testing for travelers in the world’s most populous country, which is facing its worst outbreak to date.

Y the situation is expected to worsen before the celebration of the Chinese New Year by the end of the month, which will prompt millions of trips by city dwellers to rural areas to visit often elderly relatives.

China has said restrictions imposed by the US, Japan or European Union (EU) countries are ‘unacceptable’, but at the same time Requires covid test for arriving passengers and continues to largely block international tourists and students.

Authorities have also tried to stifle criticism of this move away from covid zero. The Weibo network, similar to Twitter, said it recently banned 1,120 accounts for “crimes against experts and academics”.

Changes at the airport

At the Beijing airport, the barriers separating international from domestic arrivals have been removedsuch as medical personnel in white protective suits.

In the lobby, a woman was waiting for a friend who is studying in Hong Kong. “It’s so amazing, we haven’t seen each other for so long… A year ago,” Wu, 20, told AFP.

In Shanghai, a man named Yang has unknowingly arrived from the United States. “I had no idea” of the new regulations, he told AFP.

“I would have considered myself extremely lucky if I had to self-isolate for two days, but it turns out I don’t have to quarantine or paperwork. We just went out, like in the past,” she explained.

“I’m quite happy I don’t have to be in quarantine. Who wants to be in quarantine? Nobody,” another woman who declined to give her name to AFP said.

Relief in Hong Kong

Even in the semi-autonomous city of Hong Kong in southern China measures have been relaxed at the borderalmost closed as of 2020.

This mall’s battered economy needs to reconnect with its main source of growth, and many estranged families on both sides of the border yearn to reunite for the Lunar New Year.

Some 410,000 Hong Kong residents plan to travel north over the next two months. And about 7,000 people from the mainland moved to the south on Sunday, according to official figures.

At the Lok Ma Chau checkpoint near Shenzhen city, a graduate student from mainland China was happy to be able to cross without restrictions.

“I’m glad I don’t have to be in quarantine. It was unbearable,” Zeng told AFP, explaining that in 2022 he was locked in a room for 21 days, with poor internet connection.

Source: AFP, with Vivian Lin in Shanghai and Xinqi Su in Hong Kong

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