Covid, from today China lifts the quarantine for those arriving from abroad

China has lifted quarantine requirements for inbound travellers, ending nearly three years of self-imposed isolation even as the country is still battling a surge in Covid cases. Mainland China also opened its border to Hong Kong today, dismantling the last pillars of a zero-Covid policy that had protected people from the virus but also cut them off from the rest of the world.
And regular passenger traffic between China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has also been restored. This was reported by the Xinhua agency. With the lifting of the anti-Covid restrictions, the crossings between the island and the city of Shenzen are gradually being reopened. According to the Hong Kong administration, about 60,000 residents of the island will travel to mainland China every day, 50,000 of them via the three land access points. Others will be able to use ferries, planes or the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao bridge.
Violators of the Covid restrictions will be set free
China has announced it will free those arrested in the past three years for violating Covid-19 restrictions, following the abrupt relaxation of stringent health measures imposed during the pandemic. The government, reports Anadolu, has called on local governments, courts, law enforcement and customs units to end the legal proceedings relating to the violation of the restrictions, on the day that sees the quarantine obligation lifted for both those arriving to China from abroad and for residents. The Beijing authorities then urged the suspects arrested for violating health measures to be released “in a timely and appropriate manner” and invited the local authorities to follow “a policy of tolerance and not punitive”. The Chinese National Health Commission announced on December 26 the downgrading of Covid-19 from a class A infectious disease to a class B infectious disease. The official definition thus passes from “new coronavirus pneumonia” to “new coronavirus infection”. The Commission also reported that “daily information on the epidemic will no longer be disseminated”. The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention will only collect data for “reference and research” and provide updates on a monthly basis.