BEIJING: China said on Monday it would end mandatory quarantine on arrival, ending more years of strict virus control as the country grapples with a surge in cases.
After largely cutting itself off from the rest of the world during the pandemic, China is now experiencing an unprecedented surge in infections after the sudden lifting of restrictions that gutted the economy and sparked nationwide protests.
And in an abrupt end to nearly three years of strict border controls, Beijing said late Monday it would end mandatory quarantines for overseas travelers.
Since March 2020, all travelers arriving in China have had to undergo mandatory centralized quarantine. That dropped from three weeks to one week this summer and five days last month.
But under new rules that will take effect on January 8, when COVID-19 will be downgraded from a Class A to a Class B infectious disease, they will no longer be required.
“In accordance with the National Health Quarantine Act, quarantine measures for infectious diseases will no longer be imposed on incoming passengers and goods,” the National Health Commission (NHC) said.
The move is likely to be welcomed by Chinese citizens and expatriates who have been unable to return and visit relatives for much of the pandemic.
But it comes as China faces a wave of cases that studies suggest could kill as many as one million people in the next few months.
Many people now face drug shortages, while emergency medical facilities are strained by an influx of unvaccinated elderly patients.
“Currently, the prevention and control of COVID-19 in China is facing a new situation and new tasks,” President Xi Jinping said in a directive on Monday, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
He said, “We must launch a more targeted patriotic health campaign…strengthen the community line of defense for epidemic prevention and control, and protect people’s lives, safety and health.” must be effectively protected.”
‘Impossible’ to track
Hospitals and cemeteries across the country are overflowing with COVID patients and victims, while the NHC announced on Sunday that it will stop publishing daily statistics on infections and deaths across the country.
The decision followed concerns that the wave of infections in the country was not being accurately reflected in official statistics.
Beijing has admitted that tracking the scale of the outbreak has become “impossible” after the end of mandatory mass testing.
And last week, the government lowered the criteria by which COVID-19 deaths were counted — a move experts say will suppress the number of deaths from the virus.
The winter surge comes ahead of two major public holidays next month, with millions of people expected to travel to their hometowns to reunite with relatives.
Officials are expecting the virus to hit less-resourced rural areas harder, and have called for guaranteed supplies of medicine and medical treatment during the week-long Lunar New Year holiday on Monday and the Lunar New Year holiday at the end of January. What is it.
In recent days, health officials in the wealthy coastal province of Zhejiang estimated that a million residents were being infected daily.
The coastal city of Qingdao also predicts around 500,000 new infections a day and the southern manufacturing city of Dongguan is looking at up to 300,000.
Unofficial surveys and modeling based on search engine terms suggest that the tide has already peaked in major cities such as Beijing and Chongqing.
A survey of more than 150,000 residents of the southwestern province of Sichuan, conducted by disease control officials, showed that 63% had tested positive for COVID, and estimated that infections had peaked on Friday.
Only six COVID deaths have been officially reported since Beijing lifted most of its restrictions earlier this month.
But the cemetery workers did the interview. AFP reported an unusually high influx of bodies, while hospitals said they were counting multiple deaths every day, as emergency wards overflowed.
The central funeral service center in the southern metropolis of Guangzhou postponed all ceremonies until Jan. 10 to focus on cremations due to a “heavy workload,” according to a notice published online Sunday.
China’s censors and mouthpieces are working overtime to spin the decision to end strict travel restrictions, quarantines and snap lockdowns as a victory, even as cases continue to rise.