Beijing today ordered people arriving in the city from any country to go into 14-day quarantine as China reported an increase in imported coronavirus cases, threatening its progress against the epidemic.
China has made major strides in its battle against the virus, prompting President Xi Jinping to visit Wuhan, the central city at the heart of the global epidemic, on Tuesday and declare that it has ‘basically curbed’ the spread of the disease.
The number of new infections has dramatically fallen in recent weeks but Wednesday showed a slight uptick from the previous day due to the increase in imported cases.
Zhang Qiang, a city government official, said at a press conference on Wednesday that those landing from ‘non-epidemic countries’ will also have to stay at home for 14 days.
People arriving in Beijing for business trips must stay in a designated hotel and undergo a nucleic acid test for the virus, he added.
A woman wears a face mask as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus as she waits at Beijing Capital Airport in Beijing today
A man wears a protective suit and escorts a face mask-wearing passenger as she leaves the Beijing Capital Airport in Beijing today
A patient infected with the coronavirus (left) can be seen receiving acupuncture treatment for the illness at the Red Cross Hospital in Wuhan, China today. Chinese President Xi Jinping said authorities had ‘basically curbed’ the disease in the city where the virus broke out, Wuhan
Flights from Italy, Iran, South Korea and Japan will arrive at a designated area of the terminal, an airport staff member said on Wednesday.
Normally the busiest in China by passenger volume, the airport was much quieter than usual on Wednesday morning.
The staffer added that travellers who need to be quarantined would be sent to the nearby New China International Exhibition Centre, where journalists saw security guards standing next to a red carpet.
Ten of the new cases came from abroad – most from Italy, the worst-hit country outside China.
Passengers wear face masks as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus as they arrive from a domestic flight into Beijing Capital Airport in Beijing today
Police and volunteers stand at the gate of the New China International Exhibition Centre, near Beijing Capital Airport in Beijing today. Airport staff said travellers who need to be quarantined would be sent to the exhibition centre for processing
A woman adjusts her face mask as she walks out a subway train in Beijing today
Six of the imported cases were in Beijing, which is enforcing a 14-day quarantine for people arriving from countries deemed to be high-risk, including Italy, Iran, South Korea and Japan.
Travellers flying into Beijing Capital International Airport from high-risk countries are now handled separately from other passengers, reported state media on Tuesday.
China has now reported 79 cases imported from abroad.
Iranian firefighters disinfect streets in southern Tehran to halt the spread of coronavirus in the early hours of this morning. Travellers from Iran, where the outbreak is one of the deadliest, will be quarantined for two weeks on arrival into China
Employees from a disinfection service company sanitize a subway station amid coronavirus fears in Seoul, South Korea today. South Korean travellers to China will be quarantined for two weeks on arrival, according to the country’s health commission
Pictured: Coronavirus emergency checkpoint and triage point at Civile Hospital in Brescia, Italy. Italy has been ravaged by the coronavirus, with the country’s PM announcing a complete quarantine of borders on Sunday. Passengers arriving from Italy will be quarantined on arrival into China
The country, however, has made significant progress in curbing domestic infections.
New cases in Wuhan fell to a new low, with 13 infections reported on Wednesday, while only one other non-imported case was recorded elsewhere in the country.
Wuhan and its surrounding province, Hubei, have been under lockdown since late January in an unprecedented effort that has prevented 56 million people from venturing to other parts of China.
Medical staff clean up the empty hospital after all patients were discharged at Wuchang Fangcang hospital, a temporary hospital set up at Hongshan gymnasium to treat people infected with the coronavirus and COVID-19 disease, in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China yesterday
Medical staff celebrate after all patients were discharged at Wuchang Fangcang hospital, a temporary hospital set up at Hongshan gymnasium to treat people infected with the coronavirus and COVID-19 disease, in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, 10 March 2020 (issued today)
Medical staff comfort a patient after all patients were discharged at Wuchang Fangcang hospital, a temporary hospital set up at Hongshan gymnasium to treat people infected with the coronavirus and COVID-19 disease, in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, 10 March 2020 (issued today)
But with Hubei reporting zero cases outside Wuhan for several days in a row, the province announced Tuesday that it would allow healthy people in low-risk areas to travel within the province.
The virus has infected nearly 81,000 people in China so far, with a large majority having already recovered. The national death toll rose to 3,158 on Wednesday.
The global death toll from the new coronavirus has passed 4,000 and the outbreak has spread to over 100 countries.