China is reopening its doors in January, Chinese tourists will soon return

China has announced the end of quarantine for incoming travelers starting January 8, which will finally allow the Chinese to travel again.

So, Chinese tourists will soon return to Thailand, a development that will bring joy to the tourism sector and disappoint some travelers.

See: Thailand risks experiencing a real tourist boom when the Chinese return

China's National Health Commission announced on Monday, December 26, that China will stop requiring incoming travelers to be quarantined starting January 8.

This is a major step towards easing border restrictions, which have been largely closed since 2020.

China's management of Covid-19 will also be downgraded to category B, less strict, from category A, currently high-level, the health authority said in a statement.

Three years of zero-tolerance measures, ranging from border closures to frequent lockdowns, have taken a toll on the Chinese economy, fueling last month's largest public outcry on the continent since President Xi Jinping came to power in 2012.

But this month, China made a sharp policy U-turn, abandoning almost all Covid restrictions in the country, leaving hospitals across the country scrambling to cope with a nationwide wave of infections.

Strict conditions imposed on incoming travelers remain in place, including five days of mandatory quarantine in a government-supervised facility and three additional days of isolation at home.

This restriction, as well as another concerning the number of passengers on international flights, will be lifted from January 8.

However, travelers entering China will still have to undergo a PCR test 48 hours before their departure, the health authority indicated.

The arrangements allowing foreigners to travel to China, particularly to work or do business, will be improved and the necessary visas will also be facilitated, the authority said.

But the entry and exit of passengers at maritime and land ports will gradually resume, while Chinese nationals' travel abroad will be restored "in an orderly manner", it added.

Since January 2020, China had classified COVID-19 as a category B infectious disease, but managed it according to category A protocols that cover diseases like bubonic plague and cholera, giving local authorities the power to quarantine patients and their close contacts and lock down regions.

As China scales back its management of the new coronavirus, the National Health Commission said that epidemic prevention and control protocols in key institutions such as elderly care facilities will be strengthened.

If an outbreak becomes severe, the institution will adopt a "closed management" to prevent the spread of infections, the authority said.

China is the last major country to consider Covid as an endemic disease.

Its containment measures had slowed the economy of $17 trillion to its lowest growth rate in nearly half a century, disrupting supply chains and global trade.

Source : Bangkok Post