Couple face criminal charges for breaking COVID rules

A tour group composed of five people in Beijing which did not report traveling to northwestern China came in close contact with more than 1,500 people in the capital by Monday, according to senior official on Monday. 

The five, who went to western China including Inner Mongolia and Gansu in October by car, didn't report to local community after they came back. Two of the five, who are a couple, went to drugstores to buy medicines when they started showing symptoms and even invited eight people to their home to play cards. The couple was slapped with criminal charges.

Among the people who went to play cards, five were later diagnosed as confirmed cases, according to Pang Xinghuo, deputy director of the Beijing Center for Disease Control and Prevention, at a news conference on Monday. 

The number of close contacts of this tour reached 1,534 by Monday. The controlled areas due to this tour involve their residential communities, malls, banks, markets, hospitals and automobile stores, she added. 

Beijing municipal government has warned that individuals who fail to follow the law on the prevention and control of infectious diseases will face legal responsibilities. 

Another tour group of four people in Beijing who immediately reported their visits after their trips came in close contacts with 310 people.

"The control and prevention measures for the two groups are very different due to their behaviors after coming back," Pang said.