June 29, 2022: -On Tuesday, China cut the quarantine period for international travelers, a big step toward reducing Covid controls that have persisted for over two years.

Overseas travelers will need to quarantine at a centralized facility, like a hotel, for seven days upon coming to mainland China, the National Health Commission said on Tuesday. Travelers can spend three additional days at home before they can venture out, the commission said.

Previously, overseas arrivals in China had to spend 14 to 21 days in centralized quarantine, which depends on the country’s city of entry and destination.

On Tuesday, the announcement also said that within China, close contacts of confirmed Covid cases would likewise need to spend seven days in quarantine, followed by three days of health monitors at home.

The Covid-related isolation requirements tended to previous for almost 14 days.

On Monday, Mainland China reported one confirmed Covid case with symptoms in the southern province of Guangdong and 21 patients with no symptoms. The cities of Beijing and Shanghai reported none in either category.

In the last few months, some cities started to reduce the length of mandatory isolation.

In the capital city of Beijing in early May had required ten days in centralized quarantine and seven days at home, down from 14 days of centralized quarantine.

China began to tighten its borders in late March 2020 as Covid-19 started to come under control domestically while extending rapidly overseas. Covid-19 first started in 2019 in the Chinese city of Wuhan.