China halves quarantine time for overseas travellers
Gulf Times
China on Tuesday reduced the length of mandatory quarantine for inbound travellers, in the biggest relaxation of entry restrictions after sticking to a rigid zero Covid policy throughout the pandemic.
The new guideline cuts the length of mandatory quarantine for overseas travellers to seven days plus three more of home monitoring -- a drastic drop from about 21 days of quarantine and home monitoring combined.
China closed off its international borders in March 2020 and the number of international flights is still tightly restricted in an effort to tamp down "imported" virus cases as the pandemic rages elsewhere.
Overseas arrivals have faced weeks of strict monitoring and costly quarantine in hotels and designated centres, as well as soaring ticket prices for the slashed number of flights.
