China On The Move Again As COVID Restrictions Eased This Week

China will ease domestic travel restrictions starting this week.

Officials said citizens should be able to move more freely starting from March 16 as restrictions are lifted as a result of a more stable coronavirus situation.

Railway authorities said people with a "green" health code can travel anywhere in the country without having to quarantine or provide a negative nucleic acid test certificate. A green code indicates the person has no infection record and is in good health.

A customer service operator source at one of the country's largest railways said travel restrictions would be lifted for all COVID low-risk regions - including regions that were downgraded by authorities from medium and high risk late February.

According to sources at domestic airports, airlines are planning to implement the same policy in the coming days. Officials at the Peking University's School of Public Health said the lifting of restrictions is correct and the country's epidemic situation is expected to improve and stabilize in the short and long terms.

The last locally transmitted COVID infection was 27 days ago in a local cluster outbreak in north China's Hebei and northeast China's Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces. Since then, the spread has been under control and with no new infections.

Last week, two patients tested positive through nucleic acid testing. However, the National Health Commission said they were not categorized as confirmed cases.

China's vaccination program is in full swing. Health authorities said more than 52 million vaccine doses had been administered by the end of February. Authorities plan to vaccinate more than 560 million people - or around 40% of the country's population - by the end of June.

Travelers will be required to wear masks and observe social distancing.