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2020-02-21 | Beijing

Exemptions to 14-Day Quarantine Policy for Travelers to Beijing

As a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, Beijing Municipality has imposed a new quarantine rule on 14th February that requires all returnees to go into a mandatory 14-day quarantine period. It was also stated that any noncompliance behaviour will face the risk of legal consequences.

While the European Chamber fully supports all reasonable efforts to address the spread and control of COVID-19, it has expressed its concern this week to key stakeholders about the importance of not only ensuring effective, but also proportionate and efficient measures, including in the application of quarantine measures in Beijing.

The official updated policy on the 14-day quarantine exemption for travellers to Beijing released on February 21st expands on the original February 14th communication.

Summary

Seven categories of travellers have been announced with different measures regarding self-quarantine requirements:

  • Travelers coming from outside of China
  • Travelers inside China (excluding Hubei Province) that come to Beijing for a short-term stay
  • Travelers from inside China (excluding Hubei Province) that return to Beijing for work
  • Commuters who live in Greater Beijing regions
  • Working staff of civil aviation and railway units
  • Staff members of ministries and other organizations of the central government
  • People with special medical needs

Translation of the New Measures 

The seven categories of people who come to Beijing that can be exempted from the 14-day self-quarantine rule are:

  1. Travelers from outside of China: the person must have stayed at least 14 days outside of China before returning, must enter Beijing through Beijing Daxing International Airport or Beijing Capital International Airport, without any stops inside China during the flight. Upon arrival in Beijing, the person should fill in a health declaration card, test body temperature, wear a facial mask and keep distance from others;
  1. From inside China (excluding Hubei Province) that come to Beijing for a short-term stay: a person who does not have a fixed residence or occupation comes to Beijing for a short-term stay (travel, visit, business, pass-through etc.), must receive a body temperature test when going in and out of hotels; must register the reason for coming to Beijing and report the information of the local contact; if there is a receiving unit, the unit must follow all COVID-19 prevention and control rules; if the person has a fever, he/she should go to the hospital in a timely manner and report the situation to the hotel and the unit. 
  1. Travelers from inside China (excluding Hubei Province) that return to Beijing for work: if the working environment is under a managed closed area and meets the requirement of centralized work, the returnee can work while being under self-observation. Others still need to be self-quarantined for 14 days.
  1. For persons who live in Greater Beijing regions, such as 3 northern counties, in Langfang, Hebei Province, that might need to commute daily to Beijing: there will be no mandatory quarantine requirement on them but they need to take routine inspections when coming in and out of Beijing.
  1. Working staff of civil aviation and railway units: considering the frequent trips to different places are a part of their work duty. They are requested to live together in centralized places. 
  1. Staff members of ministries and other organizations of the central government who return from places where the epidemic is high: out of unit management and family safety concerns, they are expected to live and work in centralized and isolated places.
  1. During self-quarantine period, people with special needs (e.g. patients, pregnant women etc.) can, on a doctor’s note, go out and have medical examinations.

Please refer to the Beijing Municipality website for details in Chinese.

Disclaimer: this in-house translation by the European Chamber is provided as a working tool. No warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, is made as to its accuracy, correctness, or reliability. Only the original official version should prevail as a source of reference. 

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