China expected to relax its COVID-19 quarantine policy

​Following recent reports of the relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions in China, the club is advised that there is currently no consistent quarantine policy implemented across all Chinese regions with each area setting their own rules to tackle the spread of the virus.  Most regional policies provide for stricter measures for people arriving in the relevant region from abroad or from high-risk areas in China. There is no quarantine requirement for people originating from a low-risk area.

China is however expected to relax the strict measures currently in place following the issue of a new regulation by the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism Group of the State Council on 11 November 2022. The 'Notice on Further Optimizing Epidemic Prevention and Control Measures in a Scientific and Precise Manner', as the regulation is titled, provides for 20 measures with the aim of regulating and relaxing the current policy. By way of an example, the quarantine period is being shortened to a 5-day quarantine at a designated facility and a further 3-day house quarantine compared to the original 7-day quarantine at a designated facility.

The amended quarantine policy is not applicable to the sign-off of crew members at Chinese ports. For any sign off, an application needs to be submitted before competent authorities seeking authorisation. However, such applications are scrutinised and only approved under certain conditions, such in cases of life-threatening illness or injury.  Similar to the quarantine policy, there is no uniform policy across China and Chinese ports in relation to crew sign-off applications. We recommend that members check with the local agents and club correspondents for the latest advice and contact us in case any assistance is required.

The club would like to thank Huatai Marine for this information. 

Category: COVID-19