The State Council's Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism released the ninth and latest prevention and control guideline for COVID-19 on Tuesday, more than a year after the previous version was published.

According to the document, inbound travelers only need to undergo centralized isolation for seven days, rather than 14 days under the previous rule, and then spend three days in self-quarantine at home. The rule also applies to close contacts of confirmed COVID-19 patients.

People who in turn are close contacts of the close contacts of COVID-infected people will go through seven days of isolation at home rather than in centralized quarantine, it added.