China relaxes coronavirus measures and cuts quarantine for travelers [VIDEO]

China announced on Friday the easing of some restrictions against COVID-19, especially those related to international travel, although the situation is far from most of the world.

The Asian giant is the last major global economy to pursue a strategy Zero COVIDwith lockdowns, mass checks and quarantines disrupting business activity and supply chains.

At a meeting on Thursday of the Standing Committee of the Politburo of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, Chairman Xi Jinping and the remaining six members of the country’s most powerful body approved some reduction in these measures.

According to a government statement released on Friday, they have decided to reduce the quarantine period for arrivals from 10 days to eight days, five days in state detention centers and three at home.

During this time, travelers arriving in the country must undergo six PCR tests and will not be able to travel freely, the government said.

But instead they will only have to imagine negative PCR test cases of COVID-19 spent 48 hours before boarding a flight to China instead of the current two.

These new rules allow “essential business personnel” and “sports groups” to bypass quarantine as long as they remain in a “closed loop” for the duration of their stay.

The authorities are also lifting the system of sudden cancellation of air routes as a punishment for airlines whose planes have reached a certain proportion of passengers who test positive for the virus.

Isolate direct contacts only

influential committee. communist party it also lifted some of the restrictions that disrupted the daily lives of its citizens.

Thus, from now on, health authorities will no longer require the identification and isolation of “secondary close contacts”, that is, people who have been in direct contact with an infected person.

They also cut the internal risk system for the virus, which goes from three to two tiers, divided into “high risk” zones with restrictions and “low risk” zones with minimal measures.

People traveling from high-risk areas to low-risk areas will be required to undergo a seven-day home quarantine instead of staying in government facilities.

An area will be designated as a low-risk area if it does not have a single case of COVID-19 infection for five consecutive days.

Workers in sectors where exposure to the virus is higher, such as aircraft crews, quarantine center staff, or airport staff, may benefit from a shorter quarantine. (AFP)