China welcomes first batch of international travellers

Beijing: For the first time in three years, China on Sunday opened its borders and welcomed international travellers and returning residents without the need for them to go under quarantine, even as infections continue to surge after Beijing scrapped its stringent zero-Covid policy.

The first flights under China’s new “no quarantine” rules for international travellers landed at the airports in Guangzhou and Shenzhen in southern Guangdong province on Sunday morning, the state-run CGTN TV reported.

Officials said 387 passengers were aboard two flights from Toronto and Singapore on the day the country ended its strict Covid-19 restrictions for travellers. On Sunday, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region resumed cross-border travel with the Chinese mainland.

Many other Chinese borders also saw cross-border travel. At the Shanghai Pudong International Airport, a man surnamed Jiang, who was the first to complete the immigration procedures, told reporters that: “It is very convenient all the way from exit hatch to border inspection and clearance”. Last month, China announced it was lifting Covid-19 restrictions that mandated international arrivals undergo nucleic acid tests and quarantine.

Inbound travellers only need to take a PCR test within 48 hours before departure, and they no longer need to apply for a health code from Chinese diplomatic and consular missions.

The Chinese government on Saturday ordered the release of people detained over a host of coronavirus-related incidents. The scrapping of the travel rules comes at a time when China is grappling with a sudden spurt in coronavirus infections.