Over the past two years of the pandemic, China’s return requirements have kept getting stricter, from the “Five One” policy to double testing to self-health management at the departure city 7 days in advance. But in the last couple of days, a lot of positive news has suddenly come out, including Version 9 of the COVID prevention and control plan issued by the State Council’s joint prevention and control office. Let’s break it down one by one:

Quarantine period for entering mainland China from overseas has changed

In the newly released Version 9 prevention and control plan, we can see:

1. Optimize and adjust the quarantine period and management methods for at-risk individuals

The quarantine and control period for close contacts and inbound travelers has been adjusted from “14 days of centralized medical quarantine observation + 7 days of home health monitoring” to “7 days of centralized medical quarantine observation + 3 days of home health monitoring.” Nucleic acid testing requirements have been adjusted from “nucleic acid tests on days 1, 4, 7, and 14 during centralized medical quarantine observation, using nasopharyngeal swabs, plus dual sampling and dual testing before release from quarantine” to “nucleic acid tests on days 1, 2, 3, 5, and 7 during centralized medical quarantine observation and on day 3 of home health monitoring, using oropharyngeal swabs.” Dual sampling and dual testing are no longer required before release from centralized medical quarantine observation. Management measures for secondary close contacts have been adjusted from “7 days of centralized medical quarantine observation” to “7 days of home medical quarantine observation,” with nucleic acid tests on days 1, 4, and 7.


The State Council has now standardized quarantine measures for entry into mainland China through all ports of entry. Policies that previously varied between 14+7 or 10+7 have now been unified to 7+3: 7 days of centralized hotel quarantine, followed by 3 days of home quarantine during which travelers still may not go out except for special circumstances such as seeking medical care.

Implementation of this policy is still moving at different speeds in different places. There are reports that some people who had already stayed in quarantine hotels for more than 7 days were released immediately, while others say some quarantine hotels are not yet recognizing the new policy. So we still need to wait and see how long full implementation will take.

DPs already confirmed

The following ports of entry have already been confirmed to be implementing the 7+3 inbound quarantine policy:

  1. Shanghai Pudong
  2. Guangzhou
  3. Foshan
  4. Dongguan
  5. Hangzhou
  6. Changsha

Embassy and consulate approval for the green code is also starting to loosen

For travelers returning to China from overseas, one major hurdle is applying for a green code through the local Chinese embassy or consulate, especially for passengers making connections. Surprisingly, today the Chinese embassies in Uruguay and Iraq both adjusted their requirements for applying for the green code. The most eye-catching changes are:

  • Embassies no longer designate specific testing providers
  • Restrictions on China-bound routing and number of transit stops have been removed

If these policies are eventually adopted by other Chinese embassies and consulates as well, then the cost of returning to China could fall further, and travelers would no longer need to pay for expensive double-testing services from designated providers.

Summary

Recently, the available ways to return to China have also gradually increased. Flights from Chengdu to Hong Kong and from the U.S. to mainland China are both adding frequencies, and the Hong Kong–mainland China cross-border coach is also offering many more reservation slots. Although returning to China is still not easy at the moment, the overall trend is clear: recent COVID-control policies have been gradually easing. There are also rumors that mainland China may consider further reducing quarantine to 5+2, so let’s wait and see.