China lifts COVID-19 Travel restrictions after 3 years
China has lifted all COVID-19 travel restrictions after nearly 3 years. The National Health Commission of China announced on Monday that people traveling to China will no longer go in quarantine from January 8, 2023.
After the uplifting of quarantine rule, AmCham China Chairman Colm Rafferty said, "It finally feels as if China has turned the corner". This announcement will not only encourage international travel but also help the Chinese to re-enter their homeland.
After this news, Chinese national interest in international travel skyrocketed. The report stated that, after a half-an-hour of this announcement, the searches for popular destinations increased 10-fold.
China will resume processing passport applications of Chinese who want to travel abroad. It will also restart its 144-hour visa-free transit policy for travelers. Foreign Visa renewal and extension will also begin.
According to China Travel agencies, though these steps will increase international travel, it will take months to go back to the pre-pandemic era of the travel industry.
China has also ended the negative COVID-19 test requirement to ride public transport and public places such as restaurants, shopping malls, etc.
Health Authorities state that China's classification of COVID will be demoted from Category A to less strict Category B from January 8. The authorities will no longer be forced to impose lockdowns and quarantine patients.
After the news of ease in China's COVID-19 travel restrictions, Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced that it is mandatory for Chinese nationals to test negative before entering Japan. He also said that Japan will limit its flights to China due to the surge in China's COVID-19 cases.
The U.S. is also preparing new COVID travel precautions for people arriving from China. It has not been announced yet, but it would probably be a negative COVID test on arrival. The U.S. State Department has advised its citizens to reconsider their travel to China.
