Hefei airport drops test result rule for departures

Hefei Xinqiao International Airport in Anhui province confirmed on Thursday that it will no longer require domestic departing passengers to provide negative test results for COVID-19.

However, destination airports may still require proof, and the Hefei airport will continue requiring arriving passengers to present health QR code and travel code before leaving the airport.

Previously, the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council revised pandemic control measures from Sept 10 to Oct 31 to ensure that people could enjoy the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day Holiday. During that period, passengers were required to have a negative nucleic acid test result within 48 hours to cross provincial-level regions in airplanes, trains, buses and ferries.

Hefei reported six new asymptomatic cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, all of them found in quarantined areas, according to a provincial Health Commission news release on Thursday morning.

The city achieved zero-COVID status at the community level on Oct 30, the local government said.