It was just too years ago when the COVID-19 pandemic swept the globe. Almost all countries imposed a lockdown that required everyone to stay at home unless it is for essential purposes. Two years later, the restrictions are finally starting to ease as things are starting to go back to normal. Most countries are already open for tourists to come to visit them after a long hiatus. There is no doubt the tourism industry is starting to hire people again after a couple of years. China is where the pandemic started so they are being a bit cautious about going back to square one.
Negative COVID Test
Better check with the airlines that you book with because they all have different requirements when it comes to the COVID test. It is highly recommended to get a RT PCR test for travel in ISO 15189 Accredited Labaratory which has approved by the Chinese Embassy.Most would require a negative COVID test 3 days prior to the departure though. This is not only for the safety of the locals in the country but for your safety too. We all know how we would want to avoid getting the COVID test done because it is painful in the nose. However, you should think about what you are going to experience when you will have no choice but to get confined in a hospital when you experience symptoms of the virus. You only have yourself to blame for that because you did not take the test and you thought it would be alright to ignore the symptoms. It would be better to go see a doctor based on what you are experiencing.
Vaccine Certificate
You must upload your vaccine certificate into an app so that they would have a record that you are completely vaccinated. We all know how the vaccine does not completely destroy the chances of you getting the virus. It will also tell the government if you already received the booster shot. While it is not mandatory to get the booster shot, it would be highly recommended to do so. It is true that some people are avoiding the vaccine since the vaccine is tested on animals. However, it is required in mainland China for all beauty products and medicine to be tested on animals which say a lot about the country.
Self-Quarantine
China recently removed the mandatory two-week quarantine as it shows how they are starting to ease travel restrictions going to their country. They highly recommend quarantining yourself though as that would make it safe for all the Chinese people. The last thing you would want to happen is for people to perceive you as a COVID spreader. These days, quarantine hotels are gone so you will just need to be honest and do it yourself. For those who don’t know, this means you should isolate yourself for a few days until you are sure you don’t have it because you are not experiencing any symptoms. If you feel that hotels are expensive then you can always choose other options that are right in the vicinity.
Mandatory Face Mask
China has recently issued an announcement that requires everyone to wear a face mask when in public places such as shopping malls, exhibition halls, and cinemas. Everyone has no choice but to be a bit too close to each other in these places. You can never really know who has the virus among all the people there that you don’t know. In fact, even if you know them, you still don’t know whether they got the virus or not. It was not too long ago when face shields were also required. We all have to admit that it is hard to breathe when you have to wear both a face mask and a face shield so we should all feel great now that the mandatory face shield has been lifted. We should just settle on face masks.
In conclusion, you will still need to take the COVID test before going to China. If you don’t then there will be instances when they will have you take the COVID test when you arrive at immigration. There is no question they take this matter seriously even if one of the vaccines came from them. We should face the facts that we would be dealing with this pandemic for a while.