China tweaks its zero-covid policy
As cases rise, the new guidelines will be tested
The Chinese government is loosening up. On November 11th it announced 20 tweaks to its “zero-covid” policy, which relies on mass testing and draconian restrictions to stem outbreaks. Many of those restrictions are now slightly less draconian. Travellers arriving from abroad, for example, will have to quarantine for eight days, down from ten. Airlines will no longer face a suspension of flights if they carry too many covid-infected passengers. Inside China people considered “close contacts of close contacts” of covid carriers will no longer need to quarantine. And the new guidelines forbid mass testing unless it is unclear how infections are spreading in an area. The markets welcomed the changes.
This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline “Relax a little”
From the November 19th 2022 edition
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