The curtain came down on the “zero Covid” policy

China ends 3 years of isolation and reopens its borders

A crowd at a train station in Beijing yesterday.

EPA

China closed the curtain on the “zero Covid” policy, reopened its borders, and abolished the mandatory quarantine for travelers arriving from abroad, thus putting an end to the isolation it had imposed on itself for nearly three years.

The confinement was originally three weeks, but then it was reduced to a week last summer, and then to five days last November.

Yesterday, China also resumed issuing passports and travel visas for mainland residents, and regular visas and residence permits for foreigners.

Yesterday, at Beijing Airport, the barriers separating incoming international flights from domestic ones disappeared, as well as employees wearing protective suits, which have been an essential element of Chinese life since the imposition of the “zero Covid” policy, while the main train stations witnessed crowded passengers.

Also in Hong Kong, strict restrictions on movement to and from China were eased yesterday, and Hong Kong's economy seeks to grow again, while families eagerly await to meet on the occasion of the Chinese New Year.

And now 50,000 Hong Kong people can cross the border daily at three land crossings, after registering their names online, and another 10,000 people are allowed to enter by sea, air or via a bridge without having to register their names in advance, according to the head of the executive authority in Hong Kong. Hong Kong, John Lee.

Beijing's announcement last month that the stone would soon be lifted urged the Chinese to plan to travel abroad, which led to a massive rise in traffic on flight booking sites, but the prospect of a massive influx of Chinese tourists prompted more than 10 countries to impose diagnostic checks on travelers. Arrivals from China, where the number of infections has increased dramatically since the sudden cessation of the “zero Covid” policy.

Beijing denounced these travel restrictions imposed on its citizens, and considered them "unacceptable".

And at the conclusion of a crisis meeting of EU experts last Wednesday, member states were strongly encouraged to impose diagnostic checks on visitors from China.

Yesterday, the Netherlands and Portugal joined the countries that require arrivals from China to present a negative “Covid-19” diagnostic examination upon arrival.

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