Announcement

China’s National Health Commission issued an announcement today, renaming “novel coronavirus pneumonia” to “novel coronavirus infection.” It will also be reclassified as a Class B infectious disease and managed under Class B protocols (previously it was a Class B disease managed under Class A measures).

Timeline

Starting January 8, 2023, China will implement “Class B, Class B management” for novel coronavirus infection. Under the Law on the Prevention and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, people infected with COVID will no longer be subject to isolation measures, and close contacts will no longer be identified; high- and low-risk areas will no longer be designated; COVID patients will receive tiered treatment, and medical coverage policies will be adjusted as appropriate; the testing policy will be changed to voluntary testing; and the frequency and content of official outbreak updates will also be adjusted. Under the Frontier Health and Quarantine Law, inbound travelers and imported goods will no longer be managed as quarantinable infectious disease risks.

What This Means

For those of us in the Chinese community in the U.S., the most relevant changes are these:

  • Pre-departure testing stays, but arrival testing and quarantine are canceled: Travelers going to China must take a PCR test within 48 hours before departure. Those with a negative result may travel to China and no longer need to apply for a health code from a Chinese embassy or consulate overseas; instead, they should enter the result on the customs health declaration card. If the result is positive, the traveler should wait until testing negative before going to China. Universal PCR testing and centralized quarantine after arrival will be canceled. Travelers with a normal health declaration and no abnormalities in routine port-of-entry screening may proceed into the community.
  • China will remove international passenger flight controls such as the “Five One” policy and passenger load factor limits. Airlines should continue in-flight epidemic prevention measures, and passengers must wear masks while flying.
  • China will further optimize arrangements for foreigners traveling to China for work, business, study abroad, family visits, and reunions, and provide corresponding visa facilitation.
  • Passenger entry and exit through sea and land ports will gradually resume.
  • Based on the international COVID situation and service capacity, China will gradually and orderly resume outbound tourism for Chinese citizens.

Overall, this is essentially a full reopening, with very few additional restrictions remaining due to COVID.

Source