Ban on leprosy sufferers removed

A ban on foreign leprosy sufferers and their relatives entering China was lifted on Sunday, in a bid to end discrimination against them, a quarantine official said yesterday.

Xia Wenjun, an information officer with the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), said that as well as the removal of the general restriction, which had been in place since 1989, a guideline issued on June 2 by BOCOG, which prevented those with the disease from entering China during the Games, was also retracted.

"The reason we lifted the ban is because China has made a commitment to the international community to end discrimination against leprosy sufferers," Xia said.