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The restrictions on travellers have eased, but only certain types of visa holders are allowed to enter the country. Photo: Bloomberg

What do China’s new Covid rules mean for international travellers?

  • The time spent in quarantine on arrival has been cut to 5 days, but those arriving from overseas must still comply with a further set of rules
  • The authorities said they were still committed to the dynamic zero-Covid policy, but the new measures should make international travel easier
China has cut its quarantine requirement for travellers entering the country from seven days to five as part of a new set of measures announced on Friday.
Although the announcement made clear that the country was still committed to its “dynamic zero-Covid” policy and should not be interpreted as a relaxation of controls, the new rules should make it easier to travel both to China from overseas and inside the country.

Here is how things stand at present.

What are the new rules for international travellers?

Friday’s announcement by the State Council, the country’s cabinet cancelled “circuit breaker measures” – a rule that would see international flight routes suspended if too many passengers on previous flights tested positive on arrival.

The rule had been a major barrier for travellers who wished to visit China because of the risk of flights being cancelled at the last minute.

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Chinese flight platforms recorded a surge in searches for flights to China after the new rules were announced, and the removal of penalties for airlines may result in a greater choice of flights and lower prices for travellers.

Can I travel to China as a tourist?

No. China is still not allowing tourist visa applications.

China also limits the types of visa travellers can apply for and they are mainly for business, study and humanitarian reasons.

Effective from August 24 this year, foreigners who hold a valid Apec card for business purposes and foreign students with a valid residence permit for study can enter China without applying for new visas.

What do you need to prepare before boarding a plane?

Passengers who plan to fly to China now need to present one PCR test with a negative result taken within 48 hours of boarding. Previously they would have needed to take two tests.

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China relaxes Covid measures, cuts quarantine on arrival to 5 days

China relaxes Covid measures, cuts quarantine on arrival to 5 days

The cycle threshold (Ct) value – a measure that indicates how much virus a person is carrying – needed to get the all-clear has been lowered to 35.

Because higher values mean a lower viral load, this greatly reduces the risk that travellers who test negative when boarding will then test positive on arrival.

What happens on arrival?

Travellers will now have to pay for five, rather than seven, days in quarantine at a designated facility on arrival. However, there will still be a three-day home monitoring period after that and the rules for this have been tightened.

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Previously, new arrivals in some areas were allowed to leave home during that monitoring period, but now all must quarantine at home.

During the home quarantine travellers will be monitored by the Chinese Covid health code, which they need to apply for and register on arrival.

Inbound travellers will have to take PCR tests four times in centralised quarantine and twice while under home quarantine.

On leaving quarantine they will face a further risk assessment. Those who show a Ct value of between 35 and 40 and who are confirmed to have been previously infected will no longer need to spend extra time in quarantine. Instead they need only go through the three days of home quarantine.

China is still not approving tourist visas, so the changes will largely affect students and business travellers. Photo: EPA-EFA

In addition, inbound travellers will no longer be at risk of undergoing a second spell in quarantine if they travel to another city. Local authorities have now been banned from imposing extra restrictions.

What is the current Covid situation in China? And what about travel within the country?

China is seeing a rising wave of infections with more than 10,000 cases reported on Friday morning. Lockdown policies are constantly changing according to the scale of local outbreaks.

No opening up as yet for China, as top leadership doubles down on zero-Covid

Inbound travellers who wish to travel domestically will need to check the risk level in different cities, and areas deemed high-risk will be locked down and hit with travel restrictions.

Travellers will also need a green health code to travel to different places. The rules vary from place-to-place to place, but a yellow or red code means you are a close contact of a positive case or you have been to places where someone has tested positive. This means you face more PCR tests – or even more quarantine.

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