China to scrap quarantine for international travelers in an essential end of zero-Covid

Passenger planes sit on the tarmac at Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport on Nov. 4, 2022, before China ended Covid-related restrictions on travel.

Travelers will no longer need to be involuntarily confined when they arrive on the mainland in January.

Domestic Covid controls were relaxed this month. China had imposed a number of restrictive measures under its zero- Covid policy.

Travelers to the mainland have had to stay in designated hotels for 14 days since March 2020. The isolation period increased to 21 days or more for some travelers before China began cutting the time it took to be free of disease.

The current policy requires three days at home and five days at a centralized facility.

The National Health Commission said that effective January 8, authorities would stop tracking close contacts of Covid patients, halt the designation of Covid risk areas and cancel Covid measures that had slowed the import of goods.

Travelers to China will no longer have to apply for a health code if they show a negative virus test in the last 48 hours. Passengers will need to wear a face mask while on the flight.

China's economy slowed this year due to strict Covid controls that locked down the city of Shanghai for two months. Beijing ended many of the restrictions recently. Local Covid infections went up, putting a strain on the public health system.

Foreign businesses in China are not able to bring in staff due to the Covid-related measures.

Michael Hart, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in China, said last week that the borders are not always open.

The number of flights in and out of China needs to increase. Hart doesn't think the U.S. carriers or international carriers will return to normal immediately. The airplanes are sitting on the tarmac and doing nothing.

There were 670 million international trips in and out of China in the year. The number plummeted to 128 million in 2011.

China will improve visa arrangements for foreigners to enter the country for a variety of reasons.

The announcement said in Chinese that the ability of Chinese citizens to travel overseas would beresumed in an orderly manner.

Chinese citizens were not allowed to leave the country unless they had a clear reason for doing so.

Chinese tourists used to be a major source of income for businesses in international tourist spots.