Authorities investigate woman who flew to Beijing without reporting health condition

A woman who flew to Beijing from the United States but did not report her health condition to the flight crewis being investigated by police in the city's Shunyi district for allegedly hindering the prevention of infectious diseases, the Beijing Public Security Bureau said on Monday.

It noted the passenger, surnamed Li, 37, is receiving medical treatment at a designated hospital in the capital, and her husband and son, who returned to Beijing with her, are being quarantined and are under medical observation.

On Friday, Li, who lives in Massachusetts, was reported as an imported confirmed case of the novel coronavirus by the municipal government.

Over the past weekend, the Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control and Air China said in news releases that Li had symptoms, including cough and fever, and went to see a doctor several times in the US.

Before boarding, Li took anti-fever medicine, and she neither reported the truth nor the health conditions of her husband and son to the flight crew, bringing the contagion risk to other passengers, according to the release.

The Beijing Public Security Bureau said on Monday that preventing the epidemic from overseas has become the top priority of its work, calling for all people entering in the city to strictly abide by laws and regulations against the virus.

"We'll harshly crack down on those falsifying their health information or hiding their diseases and punish them in line with the law," the bureau added in a statement.

Beijing government said on Sunday that all international arrivals in the city will be required to be isolated at designated facilities even if they do not have coronavirus symptoms. The spending for such isolation will be covered by the travelers themselves.

Imported cases have turned out to be a main risk to the efforts to control the epidemic in Beijing and they are the majority of new cases in the city, according to the government.