China may soon shorten quarantine for inbound travelers

By Reuters November 4, 2022 | 04:06 pm PT

Travellers walk at the Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing, China May 9, 2021. Photo by Reuters/Tingshu Wang

China may soon shorten Covid-19 quarantine requirements for inbound travelers from the current 10 days to seven or eight days, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday.

Under the new rule, arrivals would need to spend five days in a quarantine facility and a further two or three days at home, one of the sources said, compared with the current requirement of seven days in a facility, typically a hotel, and a further three days under home monitoring.

Such a move would follow China's decision in June to slash quarantine time for inbound travelers by half. Health officials at the time said the shorter incubation period of the Omicron variant allowed for shorter quarantine times.

Chinese health authorities are set to hold a news conference on Saturday on Covid-19 prevention, according to a notice saying that officials from the National Bureau of Disease Control and Prevention would attend. No other details were immediately available.

China's National Health Commission did not immediately respond to a faxed request for comment.

Travel in and out of China has plunged as the country pursues "dynamic Covid zero" policies that include mandatory quarantine and RT-PCR tests for travelers upon arrival. International flights to and from China are at a small fraction of pre-Covid levels.