New measures to curb virus in taxis, hailed cars in Beijing

The Beijing Center for Disease Control and Prevention released epidemic control and prevention measures for car-hailing services and the taxi industry on Tuesday, which require that vehicles should be disinfected every time after taking passengers arriving from outside of the city via the airport or railway.

The new regulation also asked new drivers to have negative nucleic acid testing results within three days.

The center asked the car-hailing platform to suspend the vehicle-sharing service and suggested drivers and passengers reduce chatting during the ride.

Starting Monday, passengers in Beijing were asked to register their health code via smartphone applications when taking a taxi or using a car-hailing service, which aims at reducing infection risks during transportation.

"For passengers who refuse to register, drivers have the right to refuse to provide service," said Rong Jun, spokesman for the city's transport commission.

Beijing had reported three confirmed COVID-19 cases and one asymptomatic case who worked as drivers for a car-hailing company.