China drops PCR tests for inbound travelers
Throughout the pandemic, China had some of the toughest restrictions in place for a long time as it held on to its zero-COVID stance.
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The backstory: Throughout the pandemic, China had some of the toughest restrictions in place for a long time as it held on to its zero-COVID stance. The policy was essentially meant to keep COVID cases as close to zero as possible through restrictions like lockdowns, quarantines and mass testing. But, since the end of last year, China has been easing off this stance by opening up travel and scrapping national restrictions step-by-step over the last few months.
More recently: When it comes to inbound travel from some countries, China has kept PCR testing a requirement, even after dropping other travel rules like mandatory quarantine. But there have been some exceptions. For example, travelers coming from certain countries, like Malaysia and New Zealand, have had those restrictions loosened. Even with China’s borders opening and travel being encouraged, though, the air travel industry just hasn’t been recovering very quickly, with international flights from the first quarter of this year at just 12.4% of the 2019 level.
The development: So, on Tuesday, China said it would drop mandatory PCR testing for incoming travelers, a rule that’s been kind of deterring visitors since these tests take longer. Starting April 29, travelers can instead show a negative rapid test, which is less sensitive than PCR tests but a lot quicker. But it doesn’t seem like airlines will have to check those tests before boarding, anyway. Travelers will still have to fill out health declaration forms.
Key comments:
“We will continue to refine prevention and control policies in a science-based manner in light of the evolving epidemic situation to ensure the safe, healthy and orderly personnel exchange between China and other countries,” said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning at Tuesday’s press conference.
“The forty-eight hour PCR test requirement cannot be justified on public health grounds, and it is alienating the Chinese diaspora overseas, impeding China’s tourism industry, and hindering China’s post-COVID reopening efforts,” wrote Yanzhong Huang, senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations.”It is imperative that this requirement be abolished, and the time to do so is now.”
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