The National Health Commission (NHC) of the People’s Republic of China announced that COVID-related travel restrictions for people coming into the country would be significantly eased starting on January 8, and that outbound travel will begin again in 2023.

“China’s epidemic prevention and control has entered a new stage and is facing new situations and tasks,” Mi Feng, a spokesperson for the NHC, said Tuesday (original message in Chinese, translated via Google Translate). “The focus of work has shifted from ‘infection prevention’ to ‘health protection and severe disease prevention.'”

The Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of China’s State Council held a press conference on Tuesday to discuss implementing new, less extreme measures for fighting COVID.

The NHC said that COVID-19 management would go from Class A to Class B the week after the new year, meaning it has been downgraded in priority. The health agency also changed the name of the disease from “novel coronavirus pneumonia” to “novel coronavirus infection.”

According to reporting by the Global Times, a state-run newspaper, the downgraded measures beginning January 8 will see travelers into China needing to pass a COVID test 48 hours before their flight to enter the country.

China’s borders have been effectively sealed since March 2020. A surge in activity on Chinese online travel sites was reported shortly after the NHC’s announcement.

“I felt like the epidemic is finally over,” said Fan Chengcheng, a 27-year-old office worker in Beijing. “The travel plans I made three years ago may now become a reality.”

Under current restrictions, passengers who arrive must stay in quarantine for five days at a hotel and then three days at home. This has been reduced from requirements as recent as three weeks ago.

After January 6, COVID-19 testing and centralized isolation for all international travelers entering China will be canceled. Those with a standard health declaration and no abnormalities in routine quarantines at customs will be allowed into the country.

According to the plan, it will be easier to get a visa in these situations, and people will be able to enter and leave at sea and land ports again over time.

This restriction is only the latest to go as Beijing relaxes its zero-COVID rule. The Chinese government abruptly stopped forced testing and lockdowns earlier this month, as The Dallas Express previously reported.

The change to COVID rules follows nationwide demonstrations that took place last month. Heading into its fourth year, the stringent zero-COVID policy has been criticized for making travel, work, and daily life more difficult and negatively impacting the economy.

Last week, a State Council meeting was held that was hoped to “deepen and stabilize the economy,” according to the state-run Xinhua News Agency.

The meeting notes claim that policies and measures implemented to stabilize the economy, especially employment and prices, were a success. However, the foundation was not yet “solid.”

The announcement of relaxed restrictions on Monday saw Chinese stocks in the U.S. post “mostly higher,” according to Yahoo Finance.