Chinese authorities have relaxed some of the country’s rules around Covid-19 in a big boost to travel within China.
A new directive issued by China’s national health commission says people with Covid-19 who have mild or no symptoms can now quarantine at home, while the national body has also ordered regional officials to cease temporary lockdowns, The Guardian reports.
COVID testing requirements have also been eased.
The new laws, which relax China’s well-documented zero-COVID approach, come in time for China’s lunar new year period and have sparked widespread searches on Chinese travel sites.
According to Reuters, travel platforms like Trip.com and Qunar said air ticket searches to tourist hotspots like Santa and Harbin surged up to seven times after the announcement was made, with many eying Chinese new year travel.
A Trip.com Group spokesperson told Karryon that since the announcement, it has seen a “160% increase in searches for flight tickets during the Spring Festival” on Trip.com platforms.
It also saw a “900%” year-on-year increase in searches for the week ending 7 December.
Following major protests against the country’s strict COVID policies last month, the new rules also triggered joy and relief on Chinese social media.
“The epidemic fight has gone on for three years, this is a history-making day,” one Weibo-user commented.
Foreign business groups who had warned tough restrictions would seriously harm China’s economy, also embraced the move.
“Timely implementation will help stabilise China’s economy and get life back to normal,” the European Chamber of Commerce in China said on Wednesday.
What about travel to China?
While the new directives don’t impact inbound tourism to China, the move is a step in the right direction for those looking to travel there.
“Today’s measures focused on the domestic environment; however, we would also like to see further relaxation of inbound travel restrictions, continuing the progress that has been made on that front earlier this year,” American Chamber of Commerce in China chairman Colm Rafferty said in a statement.
China travel advice is also unchanged on the Smartraveller website.
“You’ll be required to have a nucleic acid test prior to departure. You should confirm pre-departure requirements with your nearest Chinese Embassy or Consulate and your travel agency,” it states.
“You’ll be subject to centralised quarantine at the first point of entry to China, with an additional period of home health monitoring that will be determined by the local authorities.”
DFAT advises Australians still “Exercise a high degree of caution in China overall due to ongoing local COVID-19 restrictions”.