China on alert for new Covid-19 variant as borders reopen ahead of Spring Festival

China is set to reopen its borders after reversing its zero-Covid policy in December. - Reuters

BEIJING, Jan 7 (Bloomberg): China will monitor travelers entering the country at some border crossings for signs of infection from a new Covid-19 variant, and will allow local governments to reimpose movement curbs on residents to prevent outbreaks after the country reopens its borders on Sunday (Jan 8).

A selected group of cities and harbors have been asked to send test samples of infected travelers for genome sequencing at the National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, according to an updated Covid control plan released on Saturday.