‘Spring is coming’: Chinese jubilant as China quarantine ends
“It’s over… spring is coming!”: Chinese rejoice on Tuesday at the end of the mandatory quarantine on arrival in China and rush to book flights abroad, following three years of isolation due to Covid.
The authorities ended without notice on December 7 most of the strict sanitary measures once morest Covid-19, once morest a backdrop of growing exasperation of the population and a considerable impact on the economy.
Last vestige of their “zero covid” policy, the mandatory quarantine will be abolished from January 8 for travelers entering the territory, Beijing announced Monday evening.
Chinese social networks immediately reacted enthusiastically to the end of the restrictions that had kept their country isolated from the outside world since March 2020.
“It’s over… spring is coming!” Rejoiced a surfer in one of the most applauded comments on Weibo, the equivalent of Twitter in China.
“I’m getting ready for my trip abroad!”, Writes another Internet user on Weibo.
“I hope that the price of the return ticket will not increase once more!” Comments a third.
– “A relief” –
Online searches for outbound flights surged once the news broke, state media reported.
Travel site Tongcheng saw an 850% jump in online searches and a tenfold increase in visa inquiries.
Competitor Trip.com reports that within half an hour of the announcement, search volume for destinations outside mainland China increased 10-fold from a year earlier. Macao, Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand and South Korea are among the top destinations.
This decision to abolish quarantines on arrival marks the end of the strict “zero Covid” policy which for almost three years imposed generalized screening tests, unexpected confinements and long compulsory quarantines in centers, which have disrupted the world’s second largest economy.
“It’s a relief,” said Tom Simpson, director general for China of the Sino-British Chamber of Commerce, “it ends three years of very significant disruption”.
The official, however, sees only a “gradual” recovery, as airlines slowly increase their number of flights and companies refine their strategies in China for 2023.
Nevertheless, the announcement is “very, very welcome”, greets Mr. Simpson to AFP.
– “Let the public protect themselves” –
From next month, only a negative test of less than 48 hours will be required to enter Chinese territory, said Monday evening the Health Commission (NHC), which acts as a ministry.
Some restrictions remain in place, however: China has largely suspended the issuance of tourist and foreign student visas since the start of the pandemic.
With the abandonment of most of the health restrictions, China is however experiencing an outbreak of Covid contaminations.
This winter upsurge comes before two New Year holidays and a few weeks before the Lunar New Year at the end of January, during which millions of people will travel to reunite with loved ones.
China announced on Sunday that it would no longer publish Covid statistics. The figures were widely criticized because of their total discrepancy with the current epidemic situation.
Across the country, hospitals and crematoriums are overflowing with Covid patients and victims, and Western studies estimate that around one million people might die in the coming months.
Major cities are now grappling with shortages of anti-fever drugs, while emergency medical facilities are strained by an influx of unvaccinated elderly patients.
Beijing insists the country is ready to weather the storm — and urges people to help themselves.
“We need the public to protect themselves properly and continue to cooperate with the appropriate prevention and control measures” for Covid, said an epidemiologist who advises health authorities, Liang Wannian, quoted by the New China agency.
