Two detained for concealing Macao trips

Two people in Tangxian county, Hebei province, were detained for concealing recent illegal trips to Macao, which carried a risk of spreading the coronavirus infection, the local public security bureau said, adding that the trips disturbed social order.

The two, both surnamed Zong, went to the Macao Special Administrative Region on Feb 29 and back to Tangxian on March 5, the bureau was quoted as saying by People's Daily.

They were given 10 days of administrative detention on Monday on suspicion of refusing to abide by a decision or order made by the government in an emergency, referring to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus pneumonia, COVID-19.

They didn't report the trips to the local government or abide by quarantine policies, which are required to protect the public against the coronavirus, the news report said.

After returning, they attended private gatherings and went to public spaces several times, the report said.

Recently, two residents of Hebei's Ningjin county were punished for visiting Wuhan, epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in China, and failing to report their trips to local authorities.

One of people, surnamed Zhu, was placed under administrative detention and fined, while the other, surnamed Chang, received only a fine.