Women asked to leave China after breaking quarantine

An Australian-Chinese woman was asked to leave China within a specified period of time by Beijing police after she refused to abide by quarantine rules on preventing the novel coronavirus and went outside to exercise without wearing a mask in Beijing.

The Beijing Public Security Bureau issued the decision to the woman, surnamed Liang, via its micro blog on Thursday, adding her work-related residence permit also has been revoked in line with the Chinese Exit and Entry Administration Law.

Liang's case aroused public attention and triggered the anger of netizens after a video in which she declined to follow quarantine rules during the outbreak went viral online.

After a police investigation it was learned Liang, 47, who works for Bayer, a German chemical and pharmaceutical company, arrived in Beijing on Saturday. The deadline of her work-related residence permit is Sept 5 this year, according to the bureau.

Instead of staying at home for the two-week observation as required, she was found running outside without wearing a mask, and did not listen and even shouted "help" when a community staff member tried to persuade her to go home. 

She did not obey until the police arrived and gave her a warning.

Beijing police called for people to cooperate with quarantine and health checks after returning to the city, especially when the number of imported confirmed cases is rising. Those who do not comply with the laws and rules will be held liable, police said.

On Tuesday, the woman was dismissed by her company. Bayer's China branch said in a statement that the employee would be sacked for her behavior, noting the company always abides by the laws and regulations of the countries where it operates, and firmly supports the anti-epidemic measures of the Chinese government and people.