Inbound passengers to Beijing must undergo testing and quarantine

All inbound passengers arriving in the capital are required to receive nucleic acid tests and undergo centralized quarantine starting Wednesday, with the city reporting its first domestically transmitted novel coronavirus case linked to an imported case on Monday.

For those returning to the country through other ports but arriving in Beijing within 14 days, they also must take a nucleic acid tests and undergo quarantine and observation at designated isolation sites, according to a notice released by the local government Tuesday morning.

Fees for isolation and observation should be taken on by the travelers themselves, and the expenses for nucleic acid tests should be covered whether they have basic or commercial medical insurance, the notice said.

Beijing had 16 new imported novel coronavirus cases in the 12 hours from midnight to noon on Monday, bringing the total number of infections from overseas to 138 as of the end of Monday, according to the city’s health commission.

Of newly confirmed imported cases, 10 were from the United Kingdom, two from Spain, two from the United States, and one each from Greece and Mexico, the commission said. The capital also reported five new suspected cases on Monday involving inbound travelers.

A locally transmitted case connected to an imported one was reported in Haidian district on Monday, marking the first such case reported in the capital.

By midnight Monday, a total of 416 domestic cases had been registered in the capital, with 392 patients cured and released from hospital.