China relaxes corona measures - shortened quarantine on entry

China has relaxed its strict corona entry restrictions a little. According to a statement by the Beijing Health Commission on Friday, travelers will have to spend five days in central hotel quarantine after their arrival instead of the previous seven. This can be followed by a three-day quarantine in your own home.

Previously, three days of home isolation were also required. Part of the new rules is that travelers only have to present one negative corona test and no longer two within 48 hours before their departure for China. The length of the forced quarantine for people who have been identified as close contacts of a corona infected person within China has also been reduced. They now have to spend eight days in isolation instead of ten.

As the rest of the world tries to live with the virus, China continues to pursue a strict zero-Covid strategy of lockdowns, mass testing every day, strict control, contact tracing and forced quarantine. Nevertheless, the number of new infections has increased sharply again, especially in the past few weeks, while the easily contagious omicron variants are spreading quickly. On Friday, the Health Commission reported more than 10,500 new corona cases, which is unusually high for China.

According to foreign estimates, exit restrictions currently apply to many millions of people who are responsible for around a tenth of economic output. The growth of the world's second largest economy has slowed down significantly in recent months in view of the strict zero Covid line.

In addition to quarantine upon entry and recurring lockdowns, there are many other restrictions in everyday life. In order to be able to live or shop normally in the megacities, people usually have to prove a negative PCR test on their Corona app that is not older than 48 or 72 hours. They also have to scan themselves with their mobile phones everywhere at the entrance so that their movements can be tracked.

On Thursday, the Standing Committee of the Communist Party's Politburo, headed by President Xi Jinping, reaffirmed the zero-Covid strategy - and hinted at new vague rules. "We must take more resolute and decisive measures to curb the spread of the epidemic as soon as possible and restore the normal order of production and life as soon as possible," the state-run Xinhua news agency quoted the committee as saying.