Checkpoints warned for excessive measures that impede logistics

Warnings have been issued recently to some checkpoints at transportation hubs for obstructing truck drivers due to overly stringent epidemic control, the Ministry of Transport said.

Some expressway checkpoints in the provinces of Hebei, Anhui and Shaanxi carried out inappropriate regulations to hinder freight transportation, such as requiring additional nucleic acid tests for truckers and sending back all truck drivers from areas with COVID-19 cases.

A checkpoint on an expressway at Zhangjiakou, Hebei province required all truck drivers from outside the area to take an additional nucleic acid test and an antigen test even if they had negative test results from within 48 hours.

All travelers－regardless of their travel history－are required to register upon their arrival before leaving the expressway.

A checkpoint in Anqing, Anhui province asked truckers from low-risk areas other than Anhui to show negative nucleic acid tests taken from within 48 hours. A checkpoint in Hefei, Anhui asked all truck drivers from outside the province to take a nucleic acid test.

Another checkpoint in Shangluo, Shaanxi province sent back all trucks from areas that were seeing recent infections.

The warnings were issued by the office overseeing unimpeded logistics under the State Council, China's Cabinet.

Regions across the country shouldn't block logistics, but open service areas and tolls on expressways, ports and piers, according to the warning.

It is forbidden to shut down expressways, highways and other transportation means. If some roads or areas must be shut down due to epidemic control protocols, it requires a report in advance in accordance with relevant procedures, according to the warning.

The ministry has promoted the use of nationally recognized transport permits to allow truckers from epidemic-hit areas to send necessary supplies to ensure people's livelihoods and the production of key industrial and supply chain enterprises.

The permits are used to offer convenience for truck drivers from epidemic areas, rather than cause problems. Vehicles from low-risk areas do not need the permit to pass checkpoints, Li Huaqiang, an official from the Ministry of Transport, told a news conference recently.

Gridlocks on the national transport network have been eased but some problems still exist, such as barring trucks from regions categorized as medium- and high-risk areas in some places, Zhou Min, deputy head of the emergency response office from the Ministry of Transport, told a news conference recently.

In March, when the latest outbreak of COVID-19 emerged across China, road transportation was initially clogged due to stringent measures to contain the novel coronavirus. Strict COVID-19 curbs also prompted road closures and hurt trucking services in many regions across the country.

The State Council established a leading office to ensure unimpeded logistics on April 18 to solve problems with clogged transportation.

Since then, problems such as closed tolls and service areas on expressways and blocked roads hindering supply transport have been addressed gradually.

A hotline has also been set up to answer truckers' questions and receive feedback.