China to end COVID quarantine for inbound travelers on Jan. 8, 2023

China announced late Monday that travelers will no longer need to quarantine upon arrival on the mainland starting Jan. 8. The changes end the bulk of the most restrictive measures that China had imposed for nearly three years under its zero-Covid policy.

Since March 2020, travelers to the mainland have had to quarantine, typically at a designated hotel and for 14 days. That isolation period subsequently began to increase to 21 days or more for some travelers, before China began cutting quarantine times this summer.

Current policy requires five days of quarantine at a centralized facility, followed by three days at home.

China’s National Health Commission (NHC) said that steps would be taken to make it easier for some foreigners to enter the country, though it didn’t include tourists. It did indicate that Chinese would be gradually allowed to travel abroad for tourism again — especially for luxury goods — had been a significant source of income for businesses in many international tourist spots.

Starting from Jan. 8, 2023, inbound travelers will only be required to show a negative Covid test result obtained within 48 hours before departure, and wouldn’t have to apply for a clear health code anymore, China’s National Health Commission (NHC) said in an announcement on Monday. 

The commission will downgrade the management of Covid-19 to the less strict Category B from the current top-level Category A, the health authority said in a statement, as the disease has become less virulent and will gradually evolve into a common respiratory infection. The commission also renamed the novel coronavirus pneumonia as novel coronavirus infection.

中国自明年1月8日起取消入境隔离政策

中国周一晚间宣布，自1月8日起，旅客抵达大陆后将不再需要隔离。这些变化结束了中国近三年来在清零政策下实施的大部分限制性措施。

自2020年3月以来，前往大陆的旅客必须在指定酒店隔离14天。在中国于今年夏天开始缩短隔离时间之前，部分旅客的隔离期随后开始增加到21天或更长时间。

目前的政策要求在集中设施隔离五天，然后在家中隔离三天。

中国国家卫生健康委员会（NHC）表示，将采取措施，使一些外国人更容易入境，但不包括观光客。它确实表明，中国人将被逐步允许再次出国旅游，尤其是奢侈品消费 ，一直是许多国际旅游景点企业的重要收入来源。

委员会表示，明年一月九日后前往中国的旅客只需出示最近 48 小时内的病毒检测呈阴性，而无需再申请明确的健康码。

卫生当局在一份声明中说，该委员会将把对 Covid-19 的管理从目前最严谨的甲级降级为乙级，因为该疾病毒性已经降低，并将逐渐演变成一种常见的呼吸道感染。委员会还将新冠肺炎的官方中文名称从“新型冠状病毒肺炎”改为“新型冠状病毒感染”。

(rc_20221227)
 

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