Overseas Returnees, Six Other Types Exempted from Mandatory Quarantine, Says City

Editor's Note: Since this article was published, the rules governing who must undergo a quarantine have been changed once again. See here for the Mar 11 update.

The city government this afternoon announced seven types of individuals that are exempt from last week's proclamation that all returnees would be required to observe a 14-day quarantine at home upon arrival.

They are as follows:

1. Those who have not been in China for the past 14 days, and who are returning via the city's two main airports in Shunyi and Daxing;

2. Short-term visitors (such as tourists and business travelers) coming from parts of China other than Hubei, as long as they obey policies set by their hotel and their Beijing host company or office (if they have one);

3. Persons returning to Beijing to go back to jobs at companies that have safe "closed management" environments (most likely this is aimed at factory workers who live on site in dormitories);

4. Those that live in the commuter-heavy suburbs of Langfang, Sanhe, Xianghe and Daguang (aka Beisanxian), who are now permitted to go in and out of the city to work as normal, but must accept temperature checks when coming in and out of Beijing;

5. Flight and railway crews who go back and forth between cities frequently, as long as they live in quarters separate from the general population;

6. Central government officials that are going back and forth from any areas with high infection rates, under the condition that they live and work in quarters separate from the general population;

7. Pregnant women and people with medical conditions that require doctor's care.

Note that these regulations are new as of today and administration and enforcement may differ on a community-by-community basis.

Additionally, it is unclear if these directives apply to students, teachers and faculty returning to school environments, as the Beijing Education Commission has made it clear that everyone returning to a school campus should first undergo a 14-day self-quarantine in Beijing.

Today's announcement could be interpreted as implicit acknowledgement that Beijing's quarantine methods so far have for the most part controlled the rapid spread of the virus and may have in fact been slightly too conservative, hindering the return of the city to a normal pace of life.

Regardless, it pays to be conservative in these times. Since no one can guarantee that they have not been exposed to the virus during travel, we recommend that even those exempt from the policy do their best to minimize contact with crowds for at least 14 days upon arrival.

The original Chinese announcement can be found here.

Image: News.cn