Beijing has converted the New China International Exhibition Center into a transit center for international inbound passengers
People coming to Beijing from abroad must undergo one week of additional quarantine, besides the two weeks period that was mandatory until now due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to authorities in the Chinese capital. The move will affect mostly Chinese citizens, given that foreigners, barring a few exceptions, have been banned access to the country.
This change, announced by the authorities on Wednesday, means that the number of weeks of mandatory confinement for all those arriving in Beijing from other countries rises to three. Foreigners, except diplomats and some people linked to trade or medical research, are currently banned from entering China due to widespread pandemic across the world.
People in protective gear at Beijing Capital Airport
Until now, people arriving from abroad were required to remain under a 14-day quarantine at a hotel or a centre designated by the authorities. In some exceptional cases, the city’s residents were allowed to self-quarantine at home. This is a step further in the government’s measures against the coronavirus, as it seeks to prevent another outbreak from cases coming from abroad, after apparently bringing domestic infections under control.
Chefs are preparing lunch for quarantine hotels
The Beijing authorities’ decision came soon after a student from the US infected three members of his family after undergoing a two-week quarantine at a hotel, at the end of which he had tested negative for COVID-19.
A staff member checks information of a woman on her arrival to China at the China International Exhibition Center, eight kilometers away from the Beijing Capital International Airport, in Beijing on March 17
Beijing has converted the New China International Exhibition Center into a transit center for international inbound passengers
People in protective gear at Beijing Capital Airport
Chefs are preparing lunch for quarantine hotels
A staff member checks information of a woman on her arrival to China at the China International Exhibition Center, eight kilometers away from the Beijing Capital International Airport, in Beijing on March 17
