China relaxes some COVID-19 test rules for US, other travellers

BEIJING: China has removed certain COVID-19 test requirements for people flying in from countries like the United States and shortened the pre-departure quarantine period for some inbound travellers, as it finetunes its stringent measures to cope with the Omicron variant.

The slight relaxations were made in response to factors including the “characteristics of coronavirus variants”, according to notices from Chinese embassies and consulates that did not provide further details.

From Friday (May 20), travellers from Dallas, New York, Los Angeles, San Francesco and Seattle will no longer need an RT-PCR test seven days before they fly, or any antibody tests, according to notices issued late on Tuesday from the Chinese embassy in the United States and several consulates.

Those travellers will still need to do two RT-PCR tests within 48 or 24 hours of their flights – depending on which airport they are flying out of – plus another pre-flight antigen test, those notices showed.

Travel into and out of China has plunged during outbreaks of COVID-19 as the country insists on its “dynamic COVID zero” playbook that has involved restrictions on the issue and renewal of passports, mandatory quarantines for most travellers upon arrival, and flight cancellations.

But the shorter incubation period of the Omicron variant has allowed for a slight easing of curbs on international travellers. The capital city Beijing said earlier this month it had reduced the quarantine period at centralised facilities upon arrival for travellers to 10 days from 14 days, although another week of at-home isolation remains in place.

Embassies in the United Arab Emirates, Serbia and Bangladesh said on Wednesday they had removed antibody test requirements for travellers to China, and that those who had recovered from COVID infection no longer needed to provide chest scan images.

They also shortened the pre-departure quarantine period for employees at Chinese companies to 10 days from 21 days.

Bangladesh has further reduced the pre-flight quarantine for other travellers to five days from seven days, while Serbia has halved the pre-departure quarantine time for certain personnel to one week, according to embassy notices.

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