China drops COVID quarantine for foreign arrivals

China will drop a COVID-19 quarantine requirement for passengers arriving from abroad while downgrading the management of the disease.

China has renamed the Chinese term for COVID-19 from "novel coronavirus pneumonia" to "novel coronavirus infection," said a statement released by the National Health Commission on Monday.

Starting from Jan. 8, China will downgrade management of the disease from Class A to Class B, and remove it from quarantinable infectious disease management on the border entry. Currently, COVID-19 is classified as a Class B infectious disease but subject to the preventive and control measures for a Class A infectious disease in China.