China eases Covid-19 quarantine rules, flight bans

BEIJING China reduced the amount of time travellers and close contacts of infected people must spend in quarantine, a significant calibration of the Covid Zero policy that has isolated the worlds second-largest economy and raised public ire.

Travellers into China will be required to spend five days in a hotel or government quarantine facility, followed by three days confined to home, according to a National Health Commission statement on Friday. The current rules require 10 days quarantine in total, with a week in a hotel then three days at home.

The same shortened quarantine length will now also be applied to close contacts of infected people, minimising the disruptive practice of contact-tracing that has seen millions thrown into centralised facilities when officials race to stamp out spread. Close contacts of close contacts will now no longer be identified, added the statement.

In a further boon to international travel links, a controversial system that penalises airlines for bringing virus cases into the country will also be scrapped, the statement said.

Bloomberg News reported in October and November that officials were discussing these changes.

Chinese stock gauges extended a rally on the news, while the yuan strengthened and commodities surged.

The shift comes as Chinas top leadership issued instructions for a more targeted, decisive approach to Covid, raising hopes that the country will back away from its punishing approach thats exacted a growing social and economic toll. BLOOMBERG Remote video URL More On This Topic Chinas return to normal to take at least a year, analysts say China won't relax Covid-19 policies but will keep improving them: Govt expert Related Stories What you need to know about S'pore's new Covid-19 vaccination strategy Asia stepping up fight against more infectious Covid-19 variants Hong Kong cements Covid-19 tests with centres just a 15-minute walk Covid-19 wave looms in Europe amid vaccine fatigue and false sense of security Long Covid remains a mystery, though theories are emerging askST: What is excess death and what is Covid-19's true toll on the world? Biden says pandemic is over; survivors and doctors disagree No plans to include Covid-19 vaccinations in childhood immunisation schedule: Ong Ye Kung Human development set back 5 years by Covid-19, other crises: UN report Covid-19's harmful effects on the brain reverberate years later: Study