Visitor from Los Angeles investigated for quarantine violations

Travelers arriving in China  who flout the mandatory  quarantine will also face serious legal consequences, Xinhua reports.

In a high-profile case, a 37-year-old woman is under criminal investigation for obstructing infectious disease prevention after returning to Beijing from Los Angeles last week. The woman surnamed Li had been living in Massachusetts, the United States. She flew to Beijing with her family to seek treatment after one of her U.S. colleagues tested positive for the coronavirus. Li also had a fever.

She tested positive after arriving in Beijing and is now being treated, according to Pan Xuhong, an official with the Beijing police. Her husband and son are under quarantine.

Pan said the police will continue to crack down on reporting false health conditions and other illegal acts that violate epidemic prevention and control measures.

According to a guideline issued on Monday, people infected with quarantinable infectious diseases who refuse to receive isolated observation or fail to truthfully fill out their health declaration forms at border checkpoints could face criminal penalties.

According to China's Criminal Law, whoever violates the provisions on frontier health and quarantine inspection and causes the spread or a grave danger of the spread of a quarantinable infectious disease may face a maximum prison term of three years.

The guideline asked public security authorities to promptly handle related cases in accordance with the law and fast-track and expose such criminal activities during the coronavirus  prevention and control period to have a strong deterrent effect.