China orders hotels in Beijing to admit guests with negative Covid-19 test

Beijing, Apr 10: China has ordered all hotels in the capital Beijing to ensure all guests provide negative coronavirus report as the city remains on alert amid speculation that the ruling Communist party is planing to hold the annual Parliament session which has been put off in March due to the outbreak of the pandemic.

Beijing will require all arrivals to provide a negative nucleic acid report and green health code before checking in to hotels starting Sunday, the state-run Global Times reported on Friday. Visitors’ tests should be taken within seven days of arrival and their nationwide health code or Beijing health code should show no abnormality.

Visitors are also required to register a contact person in Beijing and cooperate with hotels’ health management, Zhou Weimin, an official from the Beijing Bureau of Culture and Tourism told media here on Friday. Hotels are responsible for checking guests’ health reports and monitoring their body temperatures twice a day, Zhou said.

Besides banning all foreign arrivals, China is diverting Beijing bound flights to several cities for its citizens returning from abroad to undergo 14-day quarantine before coming to the city. Beijing has 172 coronavirus cases at present with 111 patients still under treatment, according to new data of the Beijinger magazine. The new measures in Beijing reportedly aimed at preparing the ground for ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) to hold the annual session of the National People’s Congress (NPC), which has been put off in March due to the coronavirus outbreak.

As the situation improved in the country, the CPC plans to hold the annual sessions of the NPC and its advisory body, the China People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) shortly, informed sources told PTI here. China is stepping up measures to contain coronavirus cases, which are on the rise again following the arrivals of Chinese nationals from abroad in big numbers.

Beijing’s new move also followed China’s decision to lift the 76-day lockdown of Wuhan, the origin of the pandemic, on April 8 following which tens of thousands of people moved over by road, rail and air routes to different parts of China.

Those moving out needed to carry green health codes given after testing negative to coronavirus. China has also issued new protocol to test those who recovered as well as the increasing numbers of asymptomatic cases.

Asymptomatic cases refer to people who are tested positive for the coronavirus but develop no symptoms such as fever, cough or sore throat but they are infectious and pose a risk of spreading to others. China's National Health Commission (NHC) said on Friday 42 new confirmed COVID-19 cases were reported, including 38 imported cases on Thursday. Zhou said local police will strengthen their crackdown on illegal activities including filing fake information and fabricating nucleic acid test reports.