Beijing considering 7+7 quarantine policy; HK, Macau yet to announce
Beijing is reportedly considering implementing a 7+7 quarantine policy, which would allow overseas arrivals to stay at a designated medical observation facility for seven days, then stay at home for another seven days.
The easing of requirements comes in response to appeals from foreign investors and select multinational companies who have been briefed on the policy, according to sources, as cited in a report issued by South China Morning Post.
According to one of the Hong Kong media outlet’s sources, the easing of border restrictions will reduce challenges for foreign businesses which have been hampered by difficulties in sending expats to China, due to the quarantine in place.
Earlier this month, Beijing cut the time that international arrivals are required to stay in quarantine facilities to 10 days, with another seven days’ mandatory isolation at home.
Beijing’s quarantine policy for international arrivals was jointly announced by the city’s offices for Hong Kong and Macau affairs and international affairs. No updates have been made regarding the reportedly upcoming policy as of press time. As cited in its latest adjustment dated May 7, the reduction to 10 days was made “in response to the Omicron variant, which is found to have a shorter incubation period and appears to cause milder clinical symptoms.”
The country has been implementing the zero-Covid policy since the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic through various tactics, with the current strategy being a dynamic zero-Covid policy.
For Macau, authorities have said that zero-Covid policy is the “best option and should be continued.”
Beijingís Work-from-home order extended
Beijing extended orders for workers and students to stay home and ordered additional mass testing yesterday as cases of Covid-19 again rose in the Chinese capital.
Numerous residential compounds in the city have restricted movement in and out, although conditions remain far less severe than in Shanghai, where millions of citizens have been under varying degrees of lockdown for two months, as cited in a report issued by the Associated Press.
Beijing yesterday reported an uptick in cases to 99, rising from a previous daily average of around 50.
In total, China reported 802 new cases yesterday, marking a steady decline interrupted only by small-scale localized outbreaks. Despite that, the government has hewed to strict quarantine, lockdown and testing measures under its “zero-COVID” approach, even while the outside world is opening up.
Shanghai reported 480,000 people were still confined to their homes, while 1.59 million were permitted to move around their neighborhoods and 21.2 million were under lighter restrictions.
The reopening of transport links out of Shanghai created an exodus of migrant workers and foreigners, desperate to escape shortages of food, medicine and daily necessities. Among those who remain, many were still restricted to one hour of shopping time, entrusted with bringing home supplies for their entire building.
