Beijing Urges New Arrivals to Isolate Themselves to Curb Virus

(Bloomberg) -- Beijing, a city of more than 21 million residents, told some people to quarantine themselves at home for two weeks in its latest attempt to keep the deadly coronavirus from spreading.

New arrivals should stay at home for observation for 14 days because it is sometimes unclear to the authorities which provinces they may have visited or transited in, He Qinghua, an official with the ministry of public health, told reporters. He did not specify who exactly the quarantine would apply to.

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The move is the latest in a series of measures the Chinese capital has implemented over the last few weeks in response to the highly contagious disease, which has killed more than 1,500 people in the country. The government has also quarantined vast swathes of Hubei, the epicenter of the outbreak, and other parts of the world's second-biggest economy remain shut down.

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Beijing this week released a list of measures to control the spread of the virus, state-run news agency Xinhua reported on Feb. 11. It included verifying people and vehicles that are coming and going from residential communities, registering new entrants to the city and making it mandatory for people to wear masks outside, have takeaway food delivered to self-collection points and monitor their body temperatures daily.

Across Beijing, so-called neighborhood committees and property managers have been mobilized to collect information on residents' recent travel and record their temperatures. Some housing compounds have issued permits to identify the people who live there, and barred visitors from entering. Others require residents to sign a document when they get in or out.

The restrictions, which are also being imposed to different degrees in other cities across China, have made everyday tasks like buying groceries more difficult and prompted backlash against overzealous local officials.

Read More: China's Cities Lock Up Residents to Prevent Spread of Virus

In Beijing, the restrictions and tracking are not being applied universally across the city and methods range from volunteers knocking on doors to using mobile phone apps. Still, delivery people have largely been barred from entering housing compounds and are required to drop packages off at the main entrance. Side entrances in most living areas have also been sealed to make it easier to monitor traffic coming in and out.

--With assistance from Tian Ying, Peter Martin and Dandan Li.

To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Niu Shuping in Beijing at nshuping@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Shamim Adam at sadam2@bloomberg.net, Sharon Chen, Anand Krishnamoorthy

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With assistance from Bloomberg