Risk areas confined to building and specific floors: Moving forward, risk areas will only be identified by the specific apartment, building, unit, or floor.UPDATE (December 7, 2022): China abandons the health code and centralized quarantine, along with new relaxed measures.Īs of December 7, 2022, the National Health Commission held a press conference to release further optimization of COVID-19 measures. The retiring of the travel code marks the latest move to dismantle China’s COVID-19 prevention and control infrastructure. All of the travel codes services, including text messages, web pages, the standalone app, and the Alipay and WeChat mini-programs, will no longer be accessible from this date. Chinese media have reported that the travel code (通信行程卡), which was used to track whether people had traveled to areas with COVID-19 cases, will officially go offline from December 13 onward. UPDATE (December 12, 2022): China’s travel code to go offline from December 13. The new requirements are effective from December 9 onward and apply retroactively to people who arrived in Hong Kong prior to this date and are still in self-isolation as of December 9. Previously, overseas arrivals were required to take nucleic acid tests on the first two days after arrival. In addition, people arriving from Taiwan or overseas will now only be required to take RATs after arrival in Hong Kong, rather than a nucleic acid test. Close contacts of infected people can now also be discharged on day 5 if they test negative on a RAT every day for the duration of the quarantine period. People that have tested positive for COVID-19 can now be released from quarantine if they test negative on a rapid antigen test (RAT) on days 4 and 5 after being placed into quarantine. According to a notice posted on the Hong Kong government website, from Friday, December 9 onwards, the quarantine period for people infected with COVID-19 has been reduced from seven days to just five days. UPDATE (December 12, 2022): Hong Kong further loosens quarantine requirements. The new adjustments to the QR and amber codes will be effective from Wednesday, December 14 onwards. The government had previously removed the requirement for travelers to take a PCR test upon arrival, and from Tuesday, December 13 onward only need to take a rapid antigen test (RAT). Instead, everyone who tests negative for COVID-19 will be issued with a blue code in their vaccine pass which will give them free access to public places. The second adjustment is the scrapping of the “amber code”, a code issued to all arrivals in Hong Kong that restricts people from entering public premises for a period of three days. However, the government will maintain the vaccine pass, and proof of three inoculations with a COVID-19 vaccine will still be required to enter certain premises, such as restaurants. The first adjustment is the scrapping of QR codes on the “Leave Home Safe” app before entering various premises. At a press briefing on Tuesday, December 13, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee announced two new changes to the region’s COVID-19 prevention system that will effectively nullify the “0+3” self-isolation requirement for inbound travelers. UPDATE (December 13, 2022): Hong Kong lifts all COVID-19 curbs on inbound travelers. Read our article here to see the latest updates to China’s COVID policy and how businesses can prepare in the coming months. Businesses in China must take the necessary steps now to mitigate the potential impact of labor shortages and supply chain strain that may come with a surge in cases. While these long-awaited changes are welcomed by many, they also pose new challenges and risks for businesses and the economy. This article was originally posted on December 30, 2021, and last updated on December 16, 2022, to reflect the latest China travel restrictions.įrom Zero-COVID to Living with COVID: China has shifted from its zero-tolerance approach to COVID-19 to dismantling the majority of its prevention measures in a matter of weeks.
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