Pre-departure Covid-19 protocols for Indians planning to come to China have been simplified, the Chinese embassy in Delhi announced late on Sunday, days after Beijing cut quarantine requirements for incoming travelers from 10 to eight days. The easing of rules was announced by Chinese embassies in several countries on Sunday as Beijing lifted some of its Covid-19 control measures on international travel while pledging to fight the country’s outbreak in line with its controversial “zero-Covid” strategy through immediate locking. and mass tests.
From Monday, for Indian passengers, “…travelers to China need only undergo one nucleic acid test (RT-PCR) within 48 hours before boarding a flight to China and apply for a Green Health Code with a negative certificate,” the Chinese embassy announced. “Passengers traveling to China can choose any place in India or in transit according to their itinerary up to 48 hours before boarding a flight to China and apply for a Green Health Code at the embassy or consulate where the test will be conducted,” it said. , adding: “The airline will screen passengers with a valid Green Health Code and will not screen at the point of delivery”.
This means that passengers flying from India to China but passing through a third country do not need to be tested for Covid-19 in a third or transit country: if the journey from India to China takes less than 48 hours. , a negative Covid-19 test result from India will be valid. This protocol change is important as there is currently no direct flight between India and China.
Passengers will be required to present a “Certificate of vaccination with vaccines made in China or vaccines approved for use by the WHO (World Health Organization) if they have already been vaccinated,” the statement added. Importantly, there are no additional requirements for passengers who have previously tested positive for Covid-19.
“No additional requirements for travelers with a history of Covid-19 infection, close contact, suspicious symptoms and PCR test results showing presumed positive and equivocal results,” the Chinese embassy said in a statement. “All passengers can apply for a Green Health Code with one negative nucleic acid test (RT-PCR) result within 48 hours before departure,” it added.
The statement reminded prospective travelers that “nucleic acid test reports submitted to the Chinese Embassy or Consulate General in India should be issued by ICMR-authorized laboratories, machine-printed, not handwritten, and with a QR code.” Similar procedures have been simplified in several other countries including Singapore, Serbia, USA, Australia, Canada, Russia, Sweden, Myanmar, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Cambodia and so on.
China last week cut the number of quarantine days for incoming travelers from 10 to eight days and lifted a penalty for international airlines bringing virus cases into the country as it relaxes some of its controversial Covid-19 control rules. The new measures were announced on Friday, a day after President Xi Jinping chaired a meeting of the Communist Party of China’s (CPC) top decision-making body, the Politburo Standing Committee (SC), during which leaders pledged to “tenaciously” pursue “… a dynamic policy of zero incidence of Covid” while minimizing economic and social disruptions.
