Covid-19 rules eased for Indians heading to China
BEIJING: Pre-departure Covid-19 protocols for Indians planning to come to China have been simplified, the Chinese embassy in New Delhi announced late on Sunday, days after Beijing shortened quarantine requirements from 10 to eight days for inbound passengers.
The easing of rules was announced by Chinese embassies in several countries on Sunday as Beijing lifts some of its control measures on international travel while vowing to fight the outbreak in the country according to its controversial “zero-Covid” strategy through snap lockdowns and mass tests.
Applicable from Monday, Indian passengers “travelling to China only need to take one nucleic acid ( RT- PCR) test within 48 hours before boarding the flight to China, and apply for Green Health Code with a negative certificate”, the Chinese embassy announced.
“Passengers travelling to China can choose any place in India or in transit according to their itinerary, within 48 hours before boarding the flight to China, and apply for Green Health Code from the Embassy or Consulate where the test will be conducted,” it said.
“The airline will check passengers with a valid Green
Health Code and will not check the place of issue”.
This means that for passengers flying from India to China but transiting through a third country there is no need to get a Covid-19 test done in the third or the transiting country: As long as the journey from India to China takes less than 48 hours, the negative Covid-19 test result from India will be valid.
This change in protocol is important because there is no direct flight between India and China at present.
Passengers will be required to show “certificates of vaccination of Chinese-made vaccines or vaccines approved for use by WHO (World Health Organisation),
if having been already vaccinated”, the statement added.
Importantly, there are no extra requirements for passengers who were Covid-19 positive earlier.
The procedures have been simplified in several other countries including Singapore, Serbia, the United States, Australia, Canada, Russia, Sweden, Myanmar, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Cambodia and so on.
Overall, 16,072 new locally transmitted cases were reported by the National Health Commission, up from 14,761 on Sunday and the highest in China since April 25, when the caseload was high as Shanghai was fighting its worst Covid-19 outbreak.