Customs rolls out measures at ports to keep virus at bay
Print Edition
China will ramp up measures to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus through ports, customs authorities said yesterday.
Customs across the country have kept a close eye on the epidemic at home and abroad, conducted risk assessments and rolled out countermeasures at ports all over the country, Lin Wei, an official with the General Administration of Customs, told a press conference.
As coronavirus cases spread overseas, China is starting to raise its guard to avoid a resurgence of the outbreak through travelers from other countries.
The GAC now requires all entry and exit personnel to report health conditions to the customs for symptom checks. Health declaration cards in over 10 languages and QR codes are being offered for better health checks, Lin said.
Body temperature monitoring and medical inspections are being strictly carried out.
For those who have symptoms or come from hard-hit countries or regions, or people with close contact with confirmed or suspected cases, the customs will strictly carry out epidemiological screening, medical investigation and laboratory testing.
Meanwhile, Beijing yesterday reported two new cases: both are Chinese nationals who recently returned from Iran, where COVID-19 cases have multiplied quickly.
China will take steps to bring back citizens from high-risk countries if necessary, foreign ministry official Cui Aimin said. He said China has arranged 10 flights to bring home 1,314 so far, without naming specific countries.
Cui told reporters that the ministry also assisted the governments of Hong Kong and Macau in bringing back nearly 200 residents on the Diamond Princess cruise ship from Japan.
The National Immigration Administration has also rolled out special measures to facilitate foreigners’ stay in China as well as their arrivals and departures amid the virus battle.
With no need of a separate application, foreigners in China will have their stay or residence permits extended automatically for two months during the epidemic period, Liu Haitao, an official with the administration, said at a press conference yesterday.
Immigration offices nationwide will issue urgent exit and entry permits within 24 hours for those coming to China for anti-COVID-19 missions, including medical assistance, drug development and academic exchanges, Liu said.
Like Chinese citizens, foreign residents in China can file applications online and have documents delivered to their homes after the issuance, Liu said.
China’s mainland, meanwhile, reported the biggest daily rise in COVID-19 cases since February 22 yesterday as more infections emerged among prison inmates in Wuhan, the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak, but officials emphasized the overall situation continues to improve.
The proportion of Chinese patients who recovered from COVID-19 and were discharged from hospitals continued to rise in the past week to hit 52.1 percent, a health official said yesterday.
A total of 573 new infections were reported on Saturday, compared with 427 a day earlier, according to the National Health Commission. Some 565 of these were in Wuhan, including 233 reported from its prison system.
The 35 new deaths reported on Saturday were the second lowest daily total in February and down from 47 the previous day. There were also only three new cases outside central China’s Hubei Province, of which Wuhan is the capital, the lowest since the commission began tracking daily cases on January 20.
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