HARBIN, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province has tightened the coronavirus testing and quarantine rules for travelers from overseas to reduce the number of imported infections, local authorities said Sunday.
All people arriving in Heilongjiang from abroad are subject to temperature screening, nucleic acid testing (NAT) and self-paid 14-day concentrated observation, said Li Shengbin, deputy director of the provincial foreign affairs office, at a press conference.
The confirmed or suspected COVID-19 cases after returning from overseas have to pay their own treatment bills if they are not covered by basic medical insurance. There will be assistance for people in financial difficulties, Li said.
Preventing imported cases has become a key task of China's epidemic prevention and control work. Also on Sunday, Shanghai and Guangzhou said all passengers arriving in the cities from abroad will undergo NAT to screen for coronavirus.
The National Health Commission received reports of 39 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on the Chinese mainland Sunday, all of which were imported.
