Quarantine intensified to block new virus' entry

BEIJING - China's top quarantine authority on Saturday ordered a three-month intensified quarantine to prevent the entry of a new type of coronavirus.

In a statement on its website, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine demanded boosting body temperature monitoring and other medical inspections on travelers from Britain, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, after the World Health Organization (WTO) said the new virus has left a Qatari citizen in critical condition in London.

The administration also requires travelers from the three nations to inform China's entry-exit inspection and quarantine institutions if they develop acute respiratory symptoms such as fever, cough or shortness of breath.

Coronavirus is a large family of viruses that includes viruses that cause the common cold and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).

The 49-year-old Qatari man began showing symptoms on Sept 3, and he had traveled to Saudi Arabia prior to the onset of illness. He was transferred to Britain on Sept 11, and laboratory tests there confirmed the presence of a novel coronavirus, according to the WHO.