China to Cut Quarantine for Overseas Travelers, Bloomberg Reports

China plans to cut quarantine requirements for overseas travelers from January as a part of exiting its zero-COVID policy.

Two people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg News that Chinese officials are considering a “0+3” policy, meaning that arrivals into the country won’t be required to spend time in a quarantine hotel or isolation facility.

Instead, arrivals would be subject to three days of monitoring; however, it remains unclear what form that monitoring may take, or when it will start in January.

Currently, travelers arriving in China are required to quarantine at a hotel or other facility for at least the first five days.

Since the beginning of the pandemic in 2019, China has been implementing a zero-COVID policy, that includes mass testing and forcing people to state quarantine facilities. The approach caused unprecedented protests earlier this year.

Following the protests, Chinese officials announced scrapping parts of the zero-COVID policy. However, such an exit could lead to between 1.3 and 2.1 million deaths because the Chinese population lacks immunity from vaccines and infections.