Family members reunite in China after 3-year COVID separation

Chu Wenhong would fly back to Shanghai and visit her parents at least once a year after she moved to Singapore in 1994.

But she hasn't been able to do so in the past three years due to China's signature zero-COVID policy, which involved mass PCR testing, city-wide lockdowns and quarantining all inbound arrivals, including overseas Chinese like Chu, reports Reuters.

The last time the 54-year-old lab worker visited her hometown was in Nov 2019, one month before the world's first COVID outbreak was detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.

But Chu snatched a ticket last month to fly back after China announced it would end quarantine on all inbound travellers from Jan 8, marking the final unravelling of the country’s zero-COVID policy.

“Finally, I can go back. I have been waiting for this day for a long time,” Chu said from her Singapore home after packing her suitcase on Wednesday, the night before her flight.

The removal of inbound quarantine prompted a surge in demand for plane tickets in countries like Singapore which have large communities of overseas Chinese.