BEIJING | China announced on Wednesday a gradual resumption of international flights to Beijing in a context of marked improvement in health, after a drastic reduction in air links with abroad at the start of the year due to the epidemic.
• Read also: All developments in the COVID-19 pandemic
The Asian giant, where the new coronavirus first appeared at the end of 2019, closed its borders at the end of March as the epidemic stalled, but spread to many countries.
The Chinese government then limited the international connections of each airline to one per week and per country. In practice, with a few exceptions, only Chinese nationals could enter China.
An easing has been seen in recent weeks, but direct international flights to the capital have so far not been allowed. The companies had to land in a third city such as Shanghai (east), Xian or Tianjin (north), where passengers were subjected to detection tests before being placed in quarantine for two weeks.
“From September 3, international commercial flights to Beijing (…) will gradually resume,” said the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) in a statement.
The measure will first apply to eight countries deemed to be moderately at risk: Thailand, Cambodia, Pakistan, Greece, Denmark, Austria, Sweden and Canada.
Passengers will be required to present an anti-COVID test before leaving for China and will be subject to strict health measures, including a quarantine.
In terms of visas, China still does not grant them, but foreigners holding a valid work permit have been able for a few weeks to apply to the Chinese embassy in their country.
While the pandemic is showing signs of recovery in Europe, China has virtually eradicated the epidemic on its soil, the country thus announcing on Wednesday only eight new cases of contamination, all from abroad.
No deaths have been recorded in China since mid-May, if official data is to be believed.