China Reopens Borders After 3 Years of Self-Isolation Amid Surge in Covid Cases

The cover image of this article is from nytimes.com.

In the beginning of 2021, After over three years of complete isolation, China has relaxed its quarantine rules for incoming travelers. This move has brought much needed respite to the citizens of the world's second biggest economy who have been affected by this restriction.

The announcement of the lifting of the quarantine requirement generated a huge response from the people who, exasperated by the long period of separation, had started to protest against the policy.

The lifting of the rule was welcomed with wide open arms all across China. For example, at the Pudong International Airport in Shanghai, a woman named Pang expressed her joy at the relaxed policy and said it was "human". She also said that this step was necessary for smoother functioning of the activities that were halted due to the pandemic.

This announcement also ignited a spark in people who wanted to travel abroad as queries for the same skyrocketed on travel websites. This increase in the desire to migrate also created worries in the minds of other nations who imposed mandatory tests for COVID-19 on travelers coming from China, due to the ongoing pandemic in the country.

The Lunar New Year is set to begin in this month and the China's Ministry of Transport said that they expect 2 billion people to travel during this time period. The first day of this time, called Chun Yun, was marked on Saturday without domestic travel restrictions. This will be the first Lunar New Year holiday since 2020 without any travel constraints in the country.

The restrictions between Hong Kong and China have also been eased though travelers have to present a negative nucleic acid test. On Sunday, 50,000 people were permitted to cross the border daily after registering online and 10,000 were allowed to enter without prior registration. An estimate of 280,000 people registered within a day of the announced rules.

Cathay Pacific, which is the flag carrier of Hong Kong, said that they plan to double the number of flights to mainland China. Numerous countries across the continent are also making arrangements for the influx of Chinese tourists.

For instance, a crepe stand in Seoul is preparing to hire more staff and stock up ahead of Chinese travelers. Caricaturists in Tokyo are also sharpening their language skills for the visitors and expressed their thrill about the country being reopened for travel. However, they also expressed their worries regarding the capacity of their country to handle the inrush and anti-virus measures that needed to be followed.