Beijing will make significant adjustments on anti-epidemic measures including the gradual resumption of direct international commercial passenger flights, the health authorities of the Chinese capital announced on Wednesday.

According to Li Ang, spokesperson of the Beijing health commission, the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council recently released the ninth version of the COVID-19 prevention and control protocols, which serves an important measure to summarize experiences in epidemic prevention and control, consolidate the hard-won achievements and carry out epidemic prevention and control in a scientific, precise and efficient manner.

Beijing will adjust the prevention and control measures considering the characteristics of the Omicron variant and the experience gained to avoid additional and excessive prevention and control, Li said at a press briefing on Wednesday.

According to the adjustment, direct international commercial passenger flights arriving in Beijing will gradually resume in an orderly manner.

After the new adjustment was announced, data from China's travel booking website LY.com show that travel searches for Beijing increased by 130 percent overnight as of Wednesday evening. Searches for flights arriving and departing from Beijing rose by 172 percent and searches for flights from Beijing to Shanghai increased by 92 percent compared to the previous day, ranking in the top across the country according to a statement from the travel website.

Besides international flights, policies on inbound visits to Beijing will be improved to ensure the normal flow of travelers.

According to the adjustment, if a county reports one or more local cases, residents from other counties in the same city will no longer be banned from going to Beijing.

Also, residents from counties in border and port cities will not be restricted to go to Beijing.

People with a travel history to a county or a district which reported one or more cases in seven days are strictly restricted from entering Beijing, down from 14 days previously.

According to the ninth version of the COVID-19 prevention and control protocols, close contacts and inbound international travelers to Beijing will be placed under a seven-day centralized quarantine followed by a three-day home quarantine.

The authorities reminded that travelers planning to go to Beijing should have a green health code and a negative nucleic acid test obtained within 48 hours. Travelers are requested to take nucleic acid tests, 24 and in 72 hours upon arrival.

Inbound arrivals through other ports have to complete a seven-day centralized quarantine and a three-day home monitoring with a green code and a negative nucleic acid test obtained within 48 hours before entering Beijing, said the press briefing on Wednesday.

People who travel into an area with COVID-19 infections, receive a notification by Beijing health code, come from areas of high risks, or are notified by local disease control and prevention centers in other provinces and cities as close contacts of infections, should report to their communities, companies and hotels, Pang Xinghuo, deputy head of the Beijing CDC, reminded during the press briefing on Wednesday.