Leo Ramirez Afp | Getty Images BEIJING (Reuters) – China lifted a quarantine period for international travelers on Tuesday, a major step towards easing Covid controls that have persisted for more than two years. Foreign travelers will only need to be quarantined at a central facility, such as a hotel, for seven days upon arrival in mainland China, the National Health Commission said on Tuesday. Travelers will have to spend an extra three days at home to be able to get out, the commission said. Previously, arrivals abroad in China usually had to spend 14 to 21 days in central quarantine, depending on the city of entry and the destination within the country. Tuesday’s announcement also said that within China, close contacts of confirmed Covid cases would also have to spend only seven days in central quarantine, followed by three days of home health monitoring. Previously, isolation requirements associated with Covid tended to last at least 14 days. Mainland China on Monday reported a confirmed case of Covid with symptoms – in the southern province of Guangdong – and 21 cases without symptoms. The cities of Beijing and Shanghai did not mention any in any of the categories.
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In recent months, some cities have begun to reduce the duration of mandatory isolation. The Beijing capital in early May needed 10 days of central quarantine and seven days at home, less than 14 days of central quarantine. China began tightening its borders in late March 2020, as the Covid-19 began to be brought under control at home, while spreading rapidly abroad. The Covid-19 first appeared in late 2019 in the Chinese city of Wuhan.
