Centralized quarantine for entering China was cancelled, and the search volume for international air tickets increased by 8.5 times! Nucleic acid screening of passengers from China in many countries

　　Author: Chen Shanshan  

　　On the evening of December 26, the National Health and Medical Commission issued the "Overall Plan for the Implementation of "Class B and B Management" for New Coronavirus Infection", which optimized the management of Chinese and foreign personnel exchanges, and canceled the nucleic acid testing and centralized isolation of all staff after entry.

　　After the news was released, the instantaneous search volume of international air tickets on multiple platforms doubled, and many people in the industry predicted that the price of international air tickets, which are still at a high level, will gradually decrease.

　　However, while our country canceled the control measures for inbound personnel, some countries began to increase the nucleic acid testing requirements for passengers from China.

　　Entry into China does not require centralized quarantine

　　According to the arrangement, from January 8, 2023, "Class B and B control" will be implemented for new coronavirus infection.

According to the Law on the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases, isolation measures will no longer be implemented for people infected with the new coronavirus, and close contacts will no longer be identified; high and low risk areas will no longer be demarcated; patients infected with the new coronavirus will be treated in different grades and medical insurance policies will be adjusted in a timely manner; testing strategies Adjusted to "willing to do all inspections"; adjust the frequency and content of epidemic information releases.

According to the Frontier Health and Quarantine Law, no quarantine and infectious disease management measures will be taken for entry personnel and goods.

　　Among them, Article 12 of the main measures clearly stipulates that personnel coming to China should undergo a nucleic acid test 48 hours before departure, and those with a negative result can come to China without applying for a health code at our embassy or consulate abroad, and filling in the result in the customs health declaration card.

If positive, relevant personnel should come to China after turning negative.

Nucleic acid testing and centralized isolation for all staff after entry will be cancelled.

Those who have a normal health declaration and no abnormality in the routine quarantine at the customs port can be released to enter the society.

The number control measures for international passenger flights such as "five ones" and passenger load factor restrictions will be cancelled.

All airlines continue to do a good job in on-board epidemic prevention, and passengers must wear masks when boarding.

Further optimize arrangements for foreign nationals coming to China, such as resumption of work and production, business, study abroad, family visits, reunions, etc., and provide corresponding visa convenience.

Passenger entry and exit at sea and land ports will be gradually resumed.

According to the international epidemic situation and various service guarantee capabilities, the outbound travel of Chinese citizens will be resumed in an orderly manner.

　　At present, my country is still implementing "5+3" isolation measures for inbound personnel, that is, five days of centralized isolation + three days of home isolation.

The latest plan of the National Health and Medical Commission means that starting from January 8, centralized isolation is no longer required after entering China.

　　According to data from the same journey travel platform, after the news was released, the search volume of international air tickets on the entire platform increased by 850% instantaneously; the search volume of visas increased by 10 times instantaneously.

The top three overseas destinations that Chinese tourists pay most attention to are: Japan, South Korea, and Thailand.

The main search users for outbound travel are from Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou.

　　Qunar platform data shows that within 15 minutes after the news was released, the instantaneous search volume for international air tickets increased by 7 times, and the popular destinations were Thailand, Japan and South Korea.

　　International air ticket prices are expected to gradually decrease

　　At the same time, the plan also made it clear that the cancellation of the "five ones" and passenger load factor restrictions and other international passenger flight control measures means that the previously restricted international flights will continue to increase.

　　According to the civil aviation operation briefing for the 51st week of 2022 released by Flight Steward, during the week of 12.19-12.25, the number of international flights was 1,065, a decrease of 1.3% from the previous week, an increase of 77.8% from the same period in 2021, and a decrease of 93.2% from the same period in 2019.

　　Lan Xiang, director of Qunar Big Data Research Institute, analyzed that the adjustment of entry-exit policies will help promote the orderly recovery of international flights, and the number of inbound and outbound passengers will rebound in the short term.

With the gradual normalization of the supply and demand relationship of inbound and outbound air tickets, the overall price of international air tickets will gradually decrease.

　　Qunar platform data shows that since December, the booking volume of international hotels has gradually increased.

Among them, Macao and Hong Kong, which have relatively friendly cross-border policies, and overseas countries with visa-on-arrival and visa-free, are the first choice for domestic tourists.

From the data point of view, the number of hotel reservations in Macau on the Qunar platform doubled from the beginning of December, and the number of hotel reservations in the Philippines, France, and Thailand in overseas regions increased significantly, and the increase in the Philippines more than doubled. Tourists who want to go abroad to explore the world are gradually increase.

　　According to Lan Xiang's analysis, compared with the average price before the epidemic, the current international air ticket prices are still at a high level, and it will take some time for the overall international flights to return to normal levels.

For routes with a large number of flights, such as Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia, air ticket prices may rise.

With the implementation of the policy and the restoration of the operating capacity of airlines, the summer of 2023 may usher in the peak of entry and exit.

　　Lin Zhijie, an insider in the civil aviation industry, also analyzed to reporters that the quarantine-free entry policy will promote the explosive recovery of international passenger market demand. At the same time, the cancellation of the "five ones" and passenger load factor restrictions will promote the rapid recovery of the number of international passenger flights.

"The policy is good for the international airline market from both supply and demand stages. The recovery rate of international passenger flights has risen from 2.5% in May this year to the current 7.8%. It took half a year. It is expected that the return rate will at least double in the first half of next year. For For airlines, if the restrictions on international flights are fully relaxed, ticket prices will fall further, international revenue will further decline, and the oversupply situation in the domestic market will ease.”

　　Some countries check nucleic acid for passengers from China

　　However, when China canceled the control measures for entry personnel, some countries began to increase the nucleic acid testing requirements for passengers from China.

　　The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of India has announced that international passengers from Mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand and South Korea must carry RT-PCR test reports when traveling to India and are found to be symptomatic or positive for COVID-19 upon arrival in India people will be quarantined.

　　In addition, from December 24, India will select 2% of passengers on each international flight for random nucleic acid testing.

　　Yonhap News Agency also reported that the South Korean Agency for Disease Control and Prevention has included China in the list of "key countries for quarantine inspection" on December 16.

　　This measure is not an entry restriction measure, but an intensification of entry screening for objects with high infection risks and requiring centralized management during the quarantine period at Incheon International Airport.

Entry personnel whose body temperature exceeds 37.5 degrees Celsius are usually classified as symptomatic, while the standard for key quarantine objects is 37.3 degrees Celsius.

If the body temperature of an entry from a key country exceeds 37.3 degrees Celsius, he and his companions need to undergo nucleic acid testing together.

　　South Korea's epidemic prevention department stated that it will flexibly adjust the list every week considering factors such as the number of imported cases abroad, the number of confirmed cases in various places, and the increase in inbound and outbound tourists.

　　According to Viaggiare Sicuri, the website of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, from December 24, Milan Malpensa Airport will conduct a new crown nucleic acid test for all passengers (regardless of nationality) from China.

This policy is temporarily implemented until January 30, 2023, and will be re-evaluated whether to continue after the expiration.