A medical worker takes a swab sample at a nucleic acid testing station, following the coronavirus disease outbreak, in Beijing, China, on June 28, 2022.BEIJING/SHANGHAI - China slashed the quarantine time for inbound travellers by half on Tuesday , in a major easing of Covid-19 curbs that have deterred cross-border travel and resulted in international flights running at just 2 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.
In recent months, China has cautiously eased curbs on cross-border travellers, with health officials saying the shorter incubation period of the Omicron variant allows for an adjustment of quarantine time. "It will hopefully work towards increasing business exchanges and stemming the outflow of international talent, some of whom are coming up to having had three years of separation from family and friends overseas," the British Chamber of Commerce in China told Reuters.
Their daily caseloads dropped to single digits over the past week, allowing Shanghai to gradually resume eating in at restaurants and Beijing to reopen some leisure venues including the Universal Beijing Resort. Earlier on Monday, the Beijing Daily apparently misquoted Cai as saying the city would maintain its Covid control effort for "the next five years".