Arrivals face intensified scrutiny at entry points

'I had no option'

Nicholas Oettinger, an Australian, spent two days flying to Shanghai from the Sunshine Coast in his country. He changed planes in Singapore, where he learned before boarding his flight to Shanghai of the latest measures taken by the city authorities.

"I had no option. I needed to return to Shanghai for work. In addition, if I returned to Australia, I would need to observe 14 days' quarantine as well," said Oettinger, who has been in China for 13 years.

Working as an engineer at a company manufacturing glass windows and doors, he said that like most travelers on the flight to Shanghai, he did not eat or drink, as he dared not take off his mask. He added that the back three rows of seats were empty and had been set aside for anyone developing a fever or cough.

Oettinger said that after landing, the arrivals remained on the plane for three hours as customs officers and disease control workers boarded the aircraft to check their health declaration forms. Arrivals had to state their travel history in the past 14 days and also had their temperature taken twice.

On Monday, such checks were widened to all inbound flights.

Airport workers said any passenger found with obvious symptoms of the virus before disembarking would be sent to a designated hospital by ambulance.

Wang, the arrival from Houston, said she saw an ambulance take a passenger from a plane parked in front of the aircraft she was on.

When arrivals enter the terminal, medical workers carry out epidemiological investigations, including potential contact history with confirmed cases of COVID-19. The travelers' temperatures are then taken again before their health declaration forms are checked.

Anyone running a fever or showing symptoms of respiratory disease is taken for medical screening in the terminal.

Zheng Yilin, 32, a front-line worker at the airport, said: "Customs officers will also double-check the travel history to avoid omitting anyone appearing to have arrived from a point of departure not on the list of the 24 countries.... Some passengers have eventually arrived in Shanghai by making up to five transfers after many direct flights were canceled." Zheng added that the checks take about three hours.

Based on their residential address, passengers are then directed to booths set up at the airport by officials from Shanghai's 16 districts.

Zheng, from the Huangpu District Procuratorate, said, "We verify their information and notify the residential committee workers to carry out checks to see if the arrivals' homes meet the quarantine requirements."

On Sunday, these requirements were upgraded. Travelers are quarantined at home if they are the sole occupants of a residence, or if those living at the same address also agree to be quarantined for 14 days. Otherwise, an arrival has to be quarantined at a designated hotel.

Zheng said the procedures at the airport are time-consuming, but travelers have shown an increased willingness to cooperate. "So far, no food or drink has been arranged for passengers, but when we see seniors, children and pregnant women, we give our bottled water and lunchboxes to them," he added.