The World Health Organization says it encouraged China to release more COVID-19 data after it reported an estimated 60,000 coronavirus-related deaths since early December.

Cases were exploding in China well before the government's decision to abandon its strict "zero-COVID" policy, the director said, quashing suggestions that the sudden reversal caused a spike.

Travelers to China no longer have to stay at a centralized quarantine facility for seven days upon arrival. The new rules stipulate a five day quarantine, followed by three days of home observation.s. Chinese health authorities eased some of the country's...