Foreign Office withdraws Covid warning against travel to China

‘The Chinese authorities continue to impose various control and quarantine measures across the country’ – FCDO

Last resort: Qingdao in eastern China (Simon Calder)

The Foreign Office has withdrawn its warning against travel to China. For over a year, the FCDO has maintained that the People’s Republic was too dangerous for British travellers because “the current assessment of Covid-19 risks”.

China, where the coronavirus pandemic originated, has had negligible new cases for many months.

The current Covid rate relative to population is 750 times higher in the UK than in China. Along with most other countries, though, it is on the Department for Transport (DfT) “amber list” – with 10 days of self-isolation required for arrivals.

The Foreign Office go/no-go list is increasingly divergent from the DfT traffic light categorisation.

The FCDO assesses the risk to individual travellers, while the DfT says it is concerned with the risk posed to the UK from people coming in from overseas.

Entry restrictions for British visitors to China are extremely strict, with multiple tests and self-isolation. On arrival many restrictions are in place.

The Foreign Office advice says: “The Chinese authorities continue to impose various control and quarantine measures across the country.

“This includes restrictions on movement, reduced transport, entry and exit controls for towns and villages, and isolation requirements for travel between different parts of the country.”