We’re not out of the woods yet, not by a long margin. But once again, there are encouraging signs that we are getting there, not least the cancellation of the so-called “circuit breaker” policy for airlines and a host of other lightened anti-COVID measures.
On 11 November was announced the “Notice on Further Optimising the COVID Prevention and Control Measures and doing a Good Job in Scientific and Accurate Prevention and Control” (关于进一步优化新冠肺炎疫情防控措施 科学精准做好防控工作的通知). What a mouthful.
The meaning between the lines is obvious. China wants the world to know that its approach to “Dynamic COVID Zero” is based on science, and not the random, knee-jerk reaction of western countries. We get it, and thanks for the lesson on international diplomacy.
Yet, the new measures announced do make life easier for quite a lot of people.
Among the 20 adjusted regulations are, of course, the obvious. Maintain disinfection efforts, keep on with the nucleic-acid tests, etc.
But then there are new, lightened policies stating the current three categories of risk areas that be “high, medium and low” shall be adjusted to be only “high and low”. And the requirement that it shall no longer be necessary to identify the close contacts of close contacts (of COVID-positive cases), as Nanjing Daily has reported.
That’s going to considerably ease the work burden for a lot of people.
Elsewhere, we have heard a lot about those working in a “closed-loop” environment in Nanjing, with no access to the outside world whatsoever. The good news for them is that upon their release back into society, the previous “7-day centralised isolation or 7-day home isolation” is now replaced by the requirement to just spend 5 days at home.
But for readers holding out for international travel, the most promising sign is the incoming cancellation of the “circuit breaker” policy for airlines. The policy, which penalises airlines for importing more than a certain number of COVID-positive cases by denying their flights for a period, has hit the already-beleaguered industry hard.
The new measures therefore come as great news for airlines, disguised in reality as one less major headache.
The decision, though, has no bearing on foreign airlines’ restrictions on only being able to offer one flight per week to any given destination in China. But with the circuit breaker on the way out, that surely is the next logical step.
The only question remaining, therefore, is whether there be sufficient demand from people wishing to come to China under the present circumstances to warrant doing so?
