It is a paradoxical situation: China is beginning to open up to the world after three years of isolation due to Covid-19. Yet across the country, hospitals and crematoriums are overflowing with Covid-19 patients and victims, and Western studies estimate that around one million people could die in the coming months.
Chinese authorities ended most of the strict health measures against Covid-19 without notice on December 7, amid growing exasperation among the population and a considerable impact on the economy. The last vestige of the “zero Covid” policy, mandatory quarantine, will be abolished from January 8 for travelers entering the territory, Beijing announced on Monday December 26.
Many Chinese immediately reacted enthusiastically to the end of the restrictions that have kept their country isolated from the outside world since March 2020. They are rushing to book flights abroad. Online searches for outbound flights indeed surged once the news broke, state media reported.
Japan, Thailand… These most sought-after destinations
Travel site Tongcheng saw an 850% jump in online searches and a tenfold increase in visa inquiries. Its competitor Trip.com reports that, within half an hour of the announcement, the volume of searches for destinations outside mainland China increased tenfold compared to the previous year. Macao, Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand and South Korea are among the top destinations.
But some Chinese could run into difficulties: Japan already announced on Tuesday December 27 that it would require a Covid test from all travelers from mainland China, in response to the upcoming end of mandatory quarantines on arrival in China. China.
This Tokyo measure will take effect from Friday, December 30. Visitors from China will thus be the only ones in Japan to automatically have to take a Covid test, apart from any traveler showing symptoms on arrival in Japanese territory. There are “information that infections are spreading rapidly” in China, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters on Tuesday. If they test positive upon arrival in Japan, travelers from China will be subject to a seven-day quarantine in designated facilities. The number of flights to Japan from mainland China will also be limited, said Fumio Kishida.
Japan has fully reopened to foreign visitors since early October 2022, after two and a half years of near-closing its borders due to the pandemic. Last November, 934,500 foreign visitors arrived in Japan, around 40% of the level in November 2019, before the pandemic. In 2019, visitors from mainland China accounted for 30.1% of total foreign visitors to Japan.
More statistics on the Covid in China
If China starts to open up, however, it will happen gradually. The Health Commission spoke of a gradual restoration of foreign travel for the Chinese, without however advancing a timetable. Only trips for compelling reasons were previously tolerated. Some restrictions also remain in place: China has largely suspended the issuance of tourist and foreign student visas since the start of the pandemic.
The surge in cases in China comes ahead of two New Year holidays and just weeks before the Lunar New Year in late January, when millions of people will travel to reunite with loved ones.
Beijing announced on Sunday December 25 that it would no longer publish statistics on Covid-19. The figures were widely criticized because of their total discrepancy with the current epidemic situation.