On a frozen lake in Beijing on December 27, 2022 (AFP / WANG Zhao)
“It’s over… spring is coming!”: Chinese rejoiced at the lifting of forced quarantine on arrival in China on Tuesday, rushing to book flights abroad after three years of isolation due to Covid.
China will end mandatory quarantines on arrival on Jan. 8, the last vestige of its strict “zero-Covid” public health policy, authorities announced Monday.
The decision comes at a time when the world’s most populous country, however, has been experiencing an outbreak of contamination since most of its health restrictions were lifted in early December.
Many Chinese reacted enthusiastically on Tuesday to the imminent end of those restrictions that have kept their country isolated from the outside world since March 2020.
“The travel plans I’ve had for three years can become a reality,” Fan Chengcheng, a 27-year-old office worker I met in Beijing, told AFP.
“It’s finally back to normal in China!” says Ji Weihe from Shanghai, 1,000 km away.
“It’s over… Spring is coming!” After three years of frustration, a user on the social network Weibo summed it up, in line with other online comments.
“Chinese friends, France welcomes you with open arms!” commented the French Embassy in Beijing on the same social network.
– wish somewhere else –
The news prompted a spike in online searches for outbound flights on Tuesday, state media reported.
Within half an hour of the announcement, searches for destinations outside of mainland China increased 10-fold year on year, according to Trip.com, one of the most well-known travel booking sites.
Macau, Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand and South Korea are among the most popular travel destinations.
Travel app Tongcheng reports an 850 percent increase in searches on its platform.
On Tuesday, the Chinese Immigration Service announced the gradual resumption of issuing passports for “tourism” or “visiting friends abroad” from Jan. 8.
Procedures have so far been suspended due to the epidemic, which has prevented some Chinese from renewing their passports.
But the return to normality is far from certain: Japan announced on Tuesday that all travelers from China would be required to have a Covid test.
Because with the waiver of most health restrictions, the Asian giant is experiencing an outbreak of disease.
– “relief” –
A passenger on the subway in Beijing on December 27, 2022 (AFP / WANG Zhao)
Without citing Japan, Beijing on Tuesday urged its neighbor to take “scientific and reasonable” measures against the Covid that “do not disrupt” human exchanges.
The surge in the number of Covid patients in China comes a few weeks before the Lunar New Year at the end of January, during which millions of people will travel to find loved ones.
The renewed outbreak of the epidemic raises fears of high mortality among the elderly, the more vulnerable and the less vaccinated.
The decision to end quarantines on arrival marks the end of China’s strict “zero Covid” policy.
This led to widespread screening tests, unexpected deliveries and lengthy mandatory quarantines that brought the world’s second largest economy to a halt.
“It’s a relief,” said Tom Simpson, head of the Sino-British Chamber of Commerce, “it ends three years of very significant disruption.”
However, Mr Simpson sees only a “gradual” recovery while international air links with China have been drastically reduced for the past three years.
Nevertheless, the announcement was “very, very welcome,” he told the AFP news agency.
– Epidemic “not over” –
At an anti-Covid testing center in Beijing on December 27, 2022 (AFP/WANG Zhao)
The Chamber of Commerce of the European Union, for its part, welcomed a decision that should “increase the confidence of foreign companies”.
From next month, only a negative test of less than 48 hours will be required to enter Chinese territory, the Health Commission, which acts as a ministry, said on Monday evening.
Since 2020, the country’s borders have been almost completely closed to foreigners.
China stopped issuing tourist visas almost three years ago. A measure that will be continued.
“The pandemic is not over yet,” a spokesman for Chinese diplomacy Wang Wenbin defended on Tuesday.
“China will continue to adjust its visa policy,” the spokesman said.