Coronavirus: Chinese CDC researchers call for extra testing of overseas arrivals during quarantine

Analysis of imported cases finds 5 per cent tested positive after spending 14 days at a central isolation facility

Additional test in second week could reduce the risk of the virus spreading in the community, study finds

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People arriving in China from overseas must spend at least two weeks in a central quarantine facility. Photo: AP

Published: 11:30am, 25 Feb 2022

A study of imported Covid-19 cases in China has found that 5 per cent of people tested positive after they completed 14 days in quarantine, according to researchers with the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.

That included dozens of people who had been diagnosed 22 days after they arrived in China, they said in a paper published in the Chinese Journal of Epidemiology on Monday.

Although in most cases the positive result came back within a week of arrival, the researchers suggested that an additional test be given towards the end of the quarantine period to reduce the risk of Covid-19 spreading in the community.

China’s strict border controls – including testing and spending at least two weeks in a central quarantine facility – are a key part of the country’s zero-Covid policy. The length of quarantine varies, with some cities imposing at least another week of home quarantine or health monitoring after the first fortnight in a facility is completed.

The toughest rules are in the northeastern city of Shenyang, in Liaoning, where people arriving from overseas must spend 28 days in a central quarantine facility followed by a further 28 days of isolation at home, including regular testing.

For the study, the Chinese CDC researchers looked at the anonymous records of 7,199 people who had tested positive for Covid-19 after arriving from overseas in the year from July 2020 to July 2021.