By He Jiayu
Recently COVID-19 has been spreading in places over the world. Some people’s children are studying abroad. What to do if they want to return to China these days? On 11 March, Foreign Affairs Office of Nantong Municipal People’s Government
received more than 100 consultation calls that mostly related to students abroad. One official responsible for relevant matters said that for students who returned Nantong via Shanghai Port, the Customs would label their passports in different colours according to their tracks, and whether to be put in quarantine should be in compliance with specific regulations of respective county (city, district).
It is said that after students arrive at Shanghai airport, the Customs will label the passports on the spot according to the departure cities, countries and recent activity tracks. Generally speaking, green label or no label means family members can pick them up at the airport and they have to isolate themselves for 14 days at home; people whose passports have red and yellow labels must be directly sent by vehicles provided by government without any stop and they should stay at the centralized isolation medical observation point in respective county (city, district) for 14 days. The specific measures of isolation are determined by their residential counties (cities, districts).
Municipal Foreign Affairs Office reminds the parents that the label colour cannot be judged by country of origin only. Since in real situations, even taking the same flight or departing from the same country, the label colours may also be different. The label colour shall be in accordance with the comprehensive evaluation after passing the custom inspection. We suggest the parents to arrive at the airport in advance for pickup provided that their children have green or no labels.
Nantong Foreign Affairs Office has sent an announcement to Nantong students who are studying abroad, hoping that they pay all attention to epidemic conditions of the cities, areas and countries where they stay, prepare for epidemic prevention, and protect themselves even more carefully. Here are Ministry of Foreign Affairs’s global consular protection and service emergency hotlines: +86-10-12308 or +86-10-59913991. People can also enter ‘Consular Express Service’ to know more about relevant conditions.
