Bloomberg News reported on Thursday that China is considering cutting the quarantine period for arriving tourists from 10 to seven days, citing people familiar with the matter.
According to the report, officials hope to reduce the quarantine time to two days in a hotel and then five days at home.
The report said that there is no clarification on how the new restrictions on home quarantine will apply to foreigners and other tourists who do not have a residency in China.
Currently, China mandates travelers to isolate for ten days upon admission, with seven days in a hotel room followed by three days at home.
Beijing, the country's capital, reported 18 additional locally transmitted cases for the previous day on Thursday, bringing the total for the preceding 10 days to 197. The 49 infections found in the prior 10-day period were outnumbered by that number by a factor of four.
Despite the relatively low number of cases compared to other nations, China's zero-COVID policy has forced authorities in the capital to step up preventive measures, especially as the Communist party holds its once every five years congress, at which President Xi Jinping is anticipated to secure a record-breaking third term as leader.
Beijing's health authorities have urged for increased screening of high-risk persons as well as stringent checks on those entering busy venues such as supermarkets and gyms.
Some residential compounds with suspected cases were placed under lockdown for three days, which could be extended if more infections surface.
"Ensure that no one is overlooked," Beijing's health authorities said.
China has recently vowed to uphold its zero-COVID policy in the face of mounting public dissatisfaction over it and the damage it is doing to the economy, putting an end to rumors that it may soon soften its strict stance.
In his address to Congress on Sunday, Xi maintained the stringent zero-COVID policy that has kept China cut off from the rest of the world as it cautiously attempts to resume life as it did before the outbreak. The harsh strategy "put people and their lives above all else," according to Xi.
Within China, opposition to the strategy is growing. Earlier this week, reports that a 16-year-old girl died in a COVID quarantine center after her family's pleas for medical help were ignored sparked outrage, while a bus crash last month that killed 27 people on their way to a quarantine center became a lightning rod for social media criticism of the policy.
Following a quadrupling of its caseload in recent weeks, Beijing has increased its efforts to combat COVID-19 by increasing public checks and closing down some residential compounds.
