Coronavirus Count: Beijing’s Latest Contamination Figures, News, and Advice

Since the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis, we have been using this blog as a catch-all for information on the situation in Beijing. As the situation has calmed down signficantly, we're now no longer updating this blog regularly. For our full coverage of the COVID-19 crisis in Beijing, see our story archive here. Our sources of the infection numbers at the bottom of this post is the Beijing Municipal Health Commission (for local case numbers) and the National Health Commission of the People's Republic of China (for national case numbers). 

Word on the Street

• (6/18 12.03pm) Sanlitun Bars and Restaurants Close for Mass COVID-19 Testing of Staff: Word is trickling in that a number of restaurants and bars in and around Sanlitun are not open today to allow for their staff to receive COVID-19 tests. Malls in Shunyi such as Shine Hills conducted similar tests on Tuesday, setting off a wave of rumors that a case had been discovered there. In reality, no cases have been specifically found there (nor in Sanlitun), but this appears to be a citywide directive to test all F&B staff and clear them of possible infection. Read more details here.
   
• (6/18 10am) Five Areas Upgraded to Medium-Risk: As of Jun 18, five areas on Beijing have been designated as medium-risk. See the list here.
   
• (6/17 4.32pm) A Comprehensive List of Where You Can Get Tested for COVID-19 in Beijing: Beijing's second wave of infections is here and so is the ramping up of testing. As of Jun 17, all people leaving Beijing are required to provide proof of a negative nucleic acid test within seven days of travel, meaning that centers are likely to be clogged with people trying to leave the capital. Luckily, there are 100 hospitals and clinics to choose from, and while an appointment is not always mandatory, we do recommend calling ahead to avoid disappointment. Check the full list here.
   
• (6/17 2.30pm) Proof of a Negative Nucleic Acid Test Now Mandatory: As of Jun 17, all people leaving Beijing are required to provide proof of a negative nucleic acid test seven days prior to travel, according to Beijing Daily.
   
• (6/17 1.08pm) Foreign Ministry Dismisses Rumor That Foreigners With Valid Visas Will Not Be Allowed Into China: The Chinese Foreign Ministry stepped in on Tuesday evening to refute rumors online that "all foreigners with valid visas and residence permits will be denied entry from Monday" amidst a second coronavirus outbreak in the capital. Zhao Lijian, spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry and occasional rumormonger himself, said at yesterday's press briefing that they had not released the information in question and that the image circulating had been "maliciously tampered with," according to Global Times. Read more details of this report here.
   
• (6/16 5.24pm) Need to Quarantine?: What to Expect if You Travel to These Provinces From Beijing: As restrictions continue to grow in Beijing in response to the latest outbreak of the coronavirus linked to Fengtai District's Xinfadi wholesale food market, many questions remain as to where Beijingers can now travel. The local authorities are intent on stopping the spread of the virus, and are currently going to great measures to track down those likely to have come into contact with the market, its visitors, or its products over the past two weeks, and a large portion of those measures involve reducing the movement of people. As such, taxis and Didis have been restricted from traveling out of Beijing as of Tuesday morning and individual provinces are implementing their own quarantine and monitoring measures applicable to anyone from Beijing. Unfortunately, as of now, these are in no way uniform or standardized across the country, and navigating the myriad restrictions may alone be enough to put you off traveling for now. However, if you absolutely must travel, here is a list of quarantine measures as divided by province and compiled by WeChat account Beijing Radio.
   
• (6/16 4.03pm) Shunyi Restaurants Close for Testing; Restaurants Restrict Group Dining: Several Shunyiites have reported today that some restaurants in the Shine Hills area of Shunyi have been closed indefinitely, allowing for inspectors to conduct tests on staff. It's unclear how long the tests will take and if they'll move to other areas, but it appears that the Beijing Center for Disease Control and Prevention is currently undertaking huge testing of the city's food and beverage establishments, sending out inspectors in hazmat suits to check on venues such as hotels and restaurants to minimize the chances of additional spread of the virus via contaminated goods. Likewise, following the reinstatement of one-meter social distancing dining measures yesterday, it appears that authorities are ramping up measures today to reduce group dining. We would not be surprised if this is the beginning of a move toward dining restrictions as they stood around mid-March, so if you're heading for dinner with friends we suggest contacting the venue to find out whether you'll be allowed to sit together ahead of time.
   
• (6/15 5.57pm) How Travel, Venues, and Schools Stand to be Affected by Latest COVID-19 Outbreak: After the third consecutive day of new confirmed COVID-19 cases in the capital, the Beijing Municipal Committee has updated a new set of restrictions and regulations to help strengthen the city's response and prevention of the further spread of the virus. We attempt to distill the changes that we've seen so far here.
   
• (6/15 3.47pm) Hot & Spicy 2020 Postponed in Light of Latest COVID-19 Outbreak: In light of the resurgence of COVID-19 cases over the weekend, it's with heavy hearts that we must announce the postponement of Hot & Spicy Festival, due to take place at Galaxy Soho on Jun 25-27, until later this summer. Read our team's official announcement as well as more details here.
   
• (6/14 1pm) COVID-19 Fails to Dethrone Queenie's Sandwiches and Bar (QS): By early February, COVID-19 had turned into a nationwide epidemic, and QS was promptly obliged to shut their doors. Uncertain of when they’d be able to reopen, the team knew they would have to innovate, lest they be forced to close for good. Read how co-owner Jim Wang and his team did it here.
   
• (6/12 4.30pm) Two Additional Cases Reported in Fengtai District: As of this afternoon, there have been two additional new coronavirus cases reported in Fengtai District, according to Beijing Youth Daily. Both patients are male and are colleagues at Fengtai's China Meat Research Center.
   
• (6/12 4.12pm) These Are the Beijing Clubs That Have Reopened: It seems like it has been forever since we last went clubbing, indulging in the hollow decadence of Gongti Xilu or the messy charm of the Temple/Dada courtyard. After the announcement back in January that Beijing's clubs would be forced to close throughout the pandemic, many of us caught up on some serious sleep while the city was devoid of its late-night vibrance. But if you've been to Gongti recently you'll notice that the shiny supercars, trendy clubbers, and street food vendors are slowly making their way back to the area and the people are ready to blow off some steam. How that stands to change with reports this week of Beijing's first infection in close to two months is yet to be seen but it appears that the momentum of opening up will not easily be stopped. With that in mind, here is a list of clubs that are now open as well as those we're still waiting to welcome back.
   
• (6/12 12.25pm) Beijing's 56-Day Clean Streak Broken by New Coronavirus Cases: Beijing's record of 56 consecutive days without a single new COVID-19 case was broken on Thursday following reports of at least one new local infection in Xicheng District. The news, announced at a press conference by Miao Jianhong, deputy head of Xicheng District, detailed how the patient, a 56-year-old male surnamed Tang and resident of the Yuetan Jiedao complex, was diagnosed after visiting the hospital on Wednesday with symptoms of intermittent fever, fatigue, and chills. He had no cough or chest pain. More details on this developing story here.
   
• (6/9 8.30am) All Fitness Venues and Pools Set to Reopen as Beijing Further Downgrades COVID-19 Risk Level: It's been more than a month since the city downgraded to level two on Apr 30 and last updated gym operating procedures, however, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Sports has announced that all fitness centers, including public and private pools across the city, can once again reopen just so long as – you guessed it – they stick to a number of strict restrictions. Read more details here.
   
• (6/7 1pm) Chinese Paralympic training facilities reopen: Paralympic athletes in China have cause to celebrate as their training bases have finally reopened after more than four months of closure. Our OlymPicks series has more details on this piece of good news for the athletes.
   
• (6/4 2.09pm) China Eases Airline Restrictions, Implements New Points System for COVID-19 Control: After a tense rhetorical back-and-forth between Chinese and American officials, China will finally allow US airlines to fly to China, in addition to all other foreign airlines that had previously been restricted from flying into the country, Reuters reports. The change will be welcome news to many Chinese citizens who have been eagerly waiting to return from abroad. However, it has no effect on those foreign passport holders wanting to do the same. Read the details of this good news here.
   
• (6/1 1.12pm) Healing Through Words: Beijing Postcards Wants Your COVID-19 Stories: Tour company Beijing Postcards are looking to reach out to individuals, hoping to create an oral history of how the damage caused by the coronavirus has also had the capacity to build bonds, especially at a grassroots level. Read more details on the project here.
   
• (5/27 8.58am) NASA Reveals Rebound in NO2 Density in China, PM2.5 Returns Too: NASA has released new maps to present their data on the nitrogen dioxide (NO2) density in China, revealing an undeniable rebound in levels commensurate with the country's economy reopening. Earlier this year, we criticized an academic blog that made waves when they used NASA images and other data sets from February and January 2020 to show that the COVID-19 lockdown had resulted in reduced pollution in China. However, they failed to account for year-over-year comparisons, and missed the fact that historically, the country sees an annual reduction in pollution around the time of the Lunar New Year. Read more details on this report here.
   
• (5/26 11am) Sunrise Kempinski Hotel Goes Back to Turning Down Beds, Not Guests: The Sunrise Kempinski Hotel Beijing has become famous for its unparalleled views of Yanqi Lake, initially shut down in late January, however, by mid-April, China’s mitigation efforts had successfully brought COVID-19 under control and Beijingers were eager to make the hour-long journey northward to Huairou, where they could bask in the glory of the resort’s natural beauty. Read how their team was able to refine and perfect their epidemic prevention and control procedures here.
   
• (5/23 9am) China Law Help Answers Your Questions on Employment in China During the Pandemic: The COVID-19 era has been a mess for businesses – and the people employed by them. Even as we enter the recovery phase, many foreigners in Beijing, as well as those who have been stuck outside of China since the visa ban took effect, continue to face an onslaught of questions about their employment. To gain some clarity on the subject, we talked with Sophie Mao of the China Law Help blog, a project of Chinabridge Law Firm that aims to help foreigners and foreign-operated corporations better understand legal matters, about the kinds of labor questions and disputes that foreigners generally face in China, as well as the questions they might have as a result of the pandemic. Read the interview here.
   
• (5/21 12.12pm) International Flight Restrictions Expected to Continue Until October: Heavy restrictions on international air travel into China will continue until at least October, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) announced Tuesday. The news comes as a blow to many foreigners who are eagerly awaiting the end of China’s visa ban, as it indicates that a return to China could be difficult even if the ban is lifted. Read more details here.
   
• (5/21 10am) COVID-19 Huffed and Puffed, but Couldn't Blow 3 Little Pigs Down: There's no doubt that COVID-19 wrought particular havoc on Beijing's F&B scene, but given the resiliency of our fair city's restaurateurs, many were able to weather that storm. For some, it meant innovating operations and turning to delivery, while for others it was a simple case of having enough cash on hand to go dark for a few months. And yet, for 3 Little Pigs' owner Andy Horowitz it was a combination of both, with a loyal and reliable staff to boot. Read our interview with Horowitz here.
   
• (5/18 11.39am) Some Things to Consider Before You Go Completely Mask-Free: Speaking at yesterday’s national COVID-19 daily update, the National Health Commission State Council announced that "there is no need to wear masks in areas of China categorized as low-risk, provided there is adequate airflow/ventilation and appropriate social distancing can be maintained." However, some other conditions need to be met. Read more about them here.
   
• (5/14 10.47am) Most Beijing Students to Return by Jun 8, University Campuses Reopen Jun 6: At a press conference held at 4pm Wednesday, the Beijing Municipal Education Commission (BMEC) announced the latest round of class return dates, this time for Grades 11, 10, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, and Kindergarten. With high school seniors already back in class since Apr 27, and Grade 9 students back from this Monday, May 11, the announcement is more welcome news for Beijing parents of school-aged students. Read more details on the announcement here.
   
• (5/13 9.40pm) More Evidence of Opening: As further evidence of opening up, hundreds of German businesspeople and their families have signed up on a special charter flight, as reported by devdiscourse.com.
   
• (5/12 9.01pm) COVID-19 Takes Down Beloved Live Music Venue DDC: DDC, one of Beijing's most beloved live music venues since its opening in 2014, is calling it quits. In a WeChat post that went out via its official account earlier today, the club said the pressures of a three-month shutdown due to the coronavirus (and still no date on the horizon for permission to resume hosting live shows), as well as increasingly strict regulation of vintage courtyard properties such as theirs, has necessitated the closure. Read more on the story here.
   
• (5/12 8.30am) Foreigner volunteer scans temperatures at Andingmen: Social media is not kind to badly behaved foreigners, so it’s nice to see the sense of togetherness that is garnered when people of different nationalities work in unison toward a common good. A young Czech named David is an official health volunteer for the local committee. Read his story here.
   
• (5/11 1pm) Breathing Life Back Into Beijing's Restaurant Industry: Just one month ago, the streets were empty, barring the occasional delivery guys on their motorcycles shipping everything from groceries to toilet paper. The hardest part of isolation was not being able to go out and enjoy Beijing’s diverse dining scene. We therefore checked-in with some of the city's F&B personalities on how they're doing. Read it here.
   
• (5/8 5.10pm) 2022 Olympic qualifiers postponed: Several sports that intended to hold their 2022 Olympic qualifiers this year are having to postpone qualifying rounds on account of the COVID-19. Our OlymPicks series has more details.
   
• (5/8 1.12pm) International Students Have Been Stuck on Beijing University Campuses for Months: Even before Beijing reduced its risk status at the end of April, many communities were already beginning to open up, allowing deliveries and service providers to enter with ease. As restrictions continue to loosen and some communities now even allow social visits, some international students are beginning to wonder when their campus will do the same. And they have good reason to wonder given that they have essentially been stranded on campus since January. We spoke to some international students who said that they were never given an entry-exit pass. Read more here.
   
• (5/7 4pm) Lose the Mask for Outdoor Sports but Keep Them on for Subway Rides, Says Beijing CDC: Beijing’s Center for Disease Control (Beijing CDC) announced at a press conference Thursday that mask-wearing will no longer be necessary for outdoor exercise. For details on other guidelines, click here.
   
• (5/7 9.14pm) City's 100th Consecutive Daily Press Conference Still Says No to Some Businesses: Fourteen weeks after Covid-19 was first reported in Beijing, the city is slowly edging back to normal — though we still have a ways to go yet. In the city’s 100th consecutive daily press conference today, officials noted six types of businesses that are still not allowed to open in Beijing as follows: entertainment venues; team sports (including basketball, football and volleyball) as well as martial arts studios; swimming pools, gyms in underground facilities, and shower facilities at gyms; indoor attractions (including caves) at parks and tourist areas; high risk tourism attractions and glass walkways; and group package tours that include air tickets and hotel.
   
• (5/7 2pm) National Museum Inaccessible to Foreigners: Foreigners cannot currently enter the National Museum or the Capital Museum because of an oversight with the reservation systems, which only allow Chinese nationals to reserve. Additionally, the desk that would usually process foreigners is not currently being staffed. The museum was unable to give any indication on if or when foreigners would again be allowed to enter.
   
• (5/6 4.58pm) Evidence of First Policy of Opening:According to Global Times, a couple of chartered flights carrying South Koreans have landed in Wuhan.
   
• (5/4 11.37am) Another Small Step on Return Flights: Ahough this has nothing to do with the foreigner restrictions (only PRC citizens can fly in for now, with the exception of certain South Korean businessmen, as referenced here earlier) — this shows progress on how eventually it might work for foreigners looking to return. Starting May 8, passengers returning on the Moscow-Beijing route are now required to show a negative Covid-19 test taken within 5 days of departure, otherwise they will not be permitted to fly, as reported by BJ News.
   
• (5/2 7.37am) South Koreans Can Enter China on Very Special Conditions: As of May 1, China and South Korea made a deal to allow citizens of the latter to enter China under very special conditions, pavign the way for potential openings to other foreign nationals in the future. More details can be read via businesskorea.co.kr.
   
• (4/30 4.32pm) Beijing Government COVID-19 Daily Press Conference Goes Mask-less: In a refreshing surprise in today's daily press conference, all the spokespeople at the Beijing city press conference took off their masks for the first time after they started the daily briefings 87 days ago. See how they actually look like here.
   
• (4/30 1.28pm) Forbidden City Tickets Sell Out in Hours; NLGX and Other Major Attractions Also Reopen: The Forbidden City is one of the last major Beijing attractions to announce its reopening, but it too will be open for the May Day holiday, reports Beijing News. Additionally, famous hutong Nanluogu Xiang will be opening to visitors who book ahead. Read more details here.
   
• (4/29 12.07pm) Chaoyang's Red Status Set to Go Green at Midnight, Allow Travel? Chaoyang will no longer be classified as a high-risk area as of midnight tonight. The last case in Beijing was reported Apr 15, meaning that the high-risk status is set to expire tonight. Read more details here.
   
• (4/28 1.36pm) Last Patient Released from Xiaotangshan: Custom re-built specifically to deal with a possible surge in coronavirus patients, the Xiaotangshan Hospital dismissed its last 2 patients yesterday and is scheduled to be closed tomorrow after 44 days of service. Over the course of that time, 2,175 people were screened, with 53 patients testing positive. Not a single medical worker contracted the disease over the 44 days.
   
• (4/27 12.08pm) Ziroom Allows Foreigners Outside China to Terminate Their Lease and Keep Their Deposit: China's blanket ban on foreigners entering the country has meant that many expats who departed in the early days of the pandemic are now left stranded and unable to return to their life and work here, even as schools and businesses prepare their return to normalcy. Moreover, those with long-term leases have found themselves in a particular pickle, forced to pay rent on an apartment to which they cannot return. Now, there is good news for stranded renters who are lucky enough to have signed through Ziroom. Read the announcement of the rental company here.
   
• (4/27 10.32am) Ninth Death Reported: Tragically, another COVID-19 patient lost their battle against the disease in Beijing yesterday, bringing the total number of deaths due to the coronavirus to nine. Details of the patient’s age or condition were not reported. This pushes the death rate in Beijing to somewhere around 1.5 to 1.7 percent, depending on how you calculate it. As of today, 59 patients remain under treatment, 56 of which are “imported” cases of people who flew into the city from overseas.
   
• (4/27 4.24pm) These Are the Beijing Venues So Far Laid to Waste by the Coronavirus: Beijing's F&B scene currently seems to be faring better than Shanghai, who has seen multiple venues laid to waste every week since Chinese New Year and the beginnings of the largescale outbreak, a fact all too conspicuous from SmartShanghai's frequent and long lists of casualties. However, some Beijing restaurants, unfortunately, have already closed in the past several weeks. These are some of the biggest.
   
• (4/27 9.49am) Beijing’s High Schools Open: Senior high schoolers are back to school this morning, after a closure that started before Chinese New Year. The highest grade in middle school (9th in the Chinese system and 8th in some Western systems) are due back May 11, but no other grades have been announced in Beijing. Chongqing’s schedule might give us a hint on what to expect: Ninth and 12th graders resumed school on Apr 20 and Grades 4-6 are set to return today. That implies a six-week process of gradually returning to campus for students in one of China’s largest cities, a pattern that may give us in Beijing a clue as to how long it will take to get all students back: if the same pattern is followed the city could see all students back by Jun 8. Our sister site Beijingkids is tracking all the news we find about schools here.
   
• (4/24 3.39pm) How Hard Has COVID-19 Been on Beijing vs SARS? It’s been 13-1/2 weeks since COVID-19 was first reported in Beijing in January, and we're now on an 8-day streak of no new infections found in the city. This is a good time to go back and reflect on how SARS hit Beijing in 2003. Back in the SARS era, it was 16 weeks and two days from the time of the first infection (Mar 2, 2003) before the WHO removed Beijing from its travel advisory list and declared it free of SARS (Jun 24, 2003). The last Beijing SARS infection was reported on Jun 11, 2003, which means the entire affair from first infection to the last happened over the course of 14 weeks and three days. While COVID-19 has hit the planet far worse than SARS, Beijing as a city to date has seen nowhere near the deaths and infections it suffered through due to SARS. Over 2,000 people contracted SARS in Beijing and nearly 200 died... compare this to less than 600 people who have contracted COVID-19 in Beijing and a mere eight deaths (to date). Let's hope this trend holds out for the city (and others follow in its path).
   
• (4/24 3.17pm) Dogs Join Expats on List of Those Getting Paperwork Reprieves: In light of the ongoing pandemic and prevention measures, Beijing's annual two-month dog inspection period has been extended between May 30 to Dec 31. In addition, the municipal government has stated that dog owners who are subject to quarantine during that period should wait until their isolation is complete before registering their dog.
   
• (4/23 7.34am) Beijing's Death Rate Under 1.6 Percent, No Matter How You Slice It: As of yesterday, there have been 593 total infections in Beijing; eight people have died; 518 have left the hospital, and 67 remain under treatment. So what's the death rate? We could look at Deaths / Total Infections (8/593) and conclude 1.3 percent. This ignores the people who are still under treatment. If we look only at decided cases (Deaths / [Deaths + Total Recovered]) we get 8/(518+8) = 1.5 percent. A third way of looking at this is: data shows the median illness duration for survivors was 22 days (for fatalities it was 18.5 days). Thus we can look at the number of people hospitalized as of 22 days ago in Beijing – 580 – and divide deaths by that, giving us 8/580 or 1.4 percent. BTW of the eight deaths in Beijing, seven were people who had underlying health conditions; using the same numbers above, the rate of death for those without underlying conditions in Beijing is between 0.17% and 0.19%. Statistically speaking that means that if you contract COVID-19 in Beijing and have no pre-existing conditions, there's about a one in 526 chance you will die.
   
• (4/22 8.40am) Reopening Borders to Foreigners? Well, it's just a plan right now, but at least we know it's being discussed: China is close to reaching a deal to allow South Koreans to come back to China, while opening inbound travel from other foreign nationals is being discussed, AFP reports.
   
• (4/22 8.35am) Sporting Facilities Slowly Reopening: Good news for sports fans: sports facilities will slowly begin reopening over the next few weeks, starting with outdoor venues and later moving towards indoor venues.
   
• (4/20 11.48am) Getting Back to Normal: Beijing is well on its way to getting back to normal. We're not there yet, and diligence is still necessary. However, as everyone is reaching coronavirus information saturation, you'll find we're updating this particular post less and less often. However, our coverage continues – you'll find all of our posts on the subject indexed here.
   
• (4/17 10.56am) Don't Pop a Tent: Chaoyang Park has issued a notice that tents will now be prohibited. Many a park visitor brings along a tent to pop on the grass to provide shade and a base for picnics and the like, but in order to discourage gatherings, the park has temporarily suspended this privilege. If you plan on doing the same in other parts of Beijing, do not be surprised if you are asked to take your tent down.
   
• (4/16 9.41am) Local Transmissions Back: Three local transmissions were reported in Beijing yesterday, all apparently connected to an imported case, and all in Chaoyang District. No further details were available so far. Prior to yesterday, the last day with a local transmission in Beijing was Mar 23, and we have to go back to Feb 26 to find a single day with more than three transmissions.
   
• (4/16 9.04am) Just Wear a Mask: Look we don't care if the WHO or the CDC or your uncle or your favorite conspiracy theory website says masks do no good. Local regulations and local norms say wear one. This expat decided to buck the trend, and the neighbors were not amused.
   
• (4/15 10.39am) Africans in Beijing React to Guangzhou Situation: Incidents of discrimination in Guangzhou have garnered the world's attention, and Africans in Beijing and have expressed solidarity with African residents of Guangzhou, and soundly admonished the discriminatory practices.
   
• (4/14 6.44pm) Some Nice Numbers to Share Today: 3: We’re on the first-ever three-day streak of no new infections in Beijing; 4: Only four patients that contracted COVID-19 locally remain hospitalized (the other 86 that remain under treatment flew in); 21: It’s been a full three weeks since we’ve had a local transmission in Beijing.
   
• (4/13 9.57am) Beijing Seniors Head Back: After months of waiting and wondering when schools would reopen, the Beijing Municipal Education Commission finally announced yesterday that high school seniors students will be able to return to school on Monday, April 27 with 9th-grade students to follow on May 11.
   
• (4/10 4.39pm) Hotels Now Require COVID-19 Test: Anyone coming to Beijing from outside the city must present certification that they have tested negative COVID-19 within the last seven days in order to check into a hotel, city officials announced today. At this point, the policy does not appear to affect those of us already in Beijing. All arrivals are now automatically tested for COVID-19 during their first two weeks in Beijing, which they must spend in quarantine at home or in a government-appointed central facility.
   
• (4/10 2.14pm) Double Zeros: For the second day in a row, Beijing has reported zero new infections in the city. How rare is this? Since Jan 20, when Beijing first started reporting COVID-19 cases in the capital, a double zero has only happened once before – on Feb 22 and 23.
   
• (4/9 9.07am) When Will Beijing's Schools Restart? Still no word on Beijing, though all but six of China's administrative areas have already restarted school, and rumors are percolating that we might hear about Beijing's plans within a week. Our sister site beijingkids has the details about school reopenings China-wide here.
   
• (4/8 10.55am) COVID-19 Tests for Everyone in Quarantine: All those subject to centralized or home quarantine in Beijing will now be given compulsory COVID-19 tests, the Beijing News reports. Currently, everyone coming to the capital from overseas or from domestic locations is being quarantined at local hotels or at their residence.
   
• (4/7 3.54pm) No Double Quarantine: Two weeks ago when China began diverting all flights from Beijing and quarantining passengers in secondary cities, the question on everyone's mind was: will these people have to do another quarantine upon arrival in the capital? The simple answer now: no.
   
• (4/7 9.17am) Haidilao is Back: Dining rooms are reopened at 50 Beijing locations of everybody's favorite hot pot spot, Haidilao. They reopened most locations in Beijing over the weekend, and some had two-hour waits to be seated. The chain is restricting each table to a maximum of three diners, and diners are complaining that bills are ringing in as up to 6 percent more expensive than prior to the outbreak.
   
• (4/3 9.37am) Beijing's Death Rate Still Under 2 Percent: What percentage of those diagnosed with COVID-19 in Beijing have Died? Depends on how you calculate it. As of today, there as been 582 total infections; eight people have died; 424 have left the hospital, and 141 remain under treatment. We could look at Deaths / Total Infections (8/582) and conclude 1.4 percent. This ignores the people who are still under treatment. If we look only at decided cases (Deaths / [Deaths + Total Recovered]) we get 8/(424+8) = 1.9 percent. A third way of looking at this is: use this data that showed the median illness duration for survivors was 22 days (for fatalities it was 18.5 days). Thus we can look at the number of people hospitalized as of 22 days ago in Beijing – 435 – and divide deaths by that, giving us 8/435 or 1.8 percent. BTW of the eight deaths in Beijing, seven were people who had underlying health conditions.
   
• (4/2 10.50pm) Foreigners Behaving Badly: It’s been a day of reports of “foreigners behaving badly” across China. First came news of a spat in Qingdao that had something to do with cutting in line. Then came news from Guangzhou that a foreigner who had tested positive for COVID-19 tried to break out of quarantine and physically assaulted a nurse in the process. Finally, closer to home, a foreigner living in the Panjiayuan area of the city is now being deported for not following the quarantine rules of his residential community. That makes two foreigners we know of (after an Australian woman was deported two weeks ago) that have lost their right to live in Beijing thanks to breaking quarantine. Our take? Two weeks at home is nothing, people – why is this so difficult for some?
   
• (4/2 3.57pm) Unsung Heroes: There's a lot of people out there that deserve praise for helping us through tough times. Here's a story of one of them.
   
• (4/2 3.52pm) Parks Tighten Up: Beijing's weather is getting really nice, and the parks are one of the main recreational opportunities that have largely remained open over the past two months. All parks are now limiting crowds to 30% of normal volume, and those with tickets are increasingly requiring advanced tickets, usually via their apps. If you intend to go to the park in the coming days, we suggest the following: (1) When possible, buy a ticket in advance. Search the park name in WeChat and you’ll find in most cases there are apps where you can buy your ticket in advance. Unfortunately, some require a Chinese ID to register; this is a tech problem and not racism. (2) Have a Plan B. There’s 20 million people in this city, and probably 10 million would like a little fresh air. Don’t be disappointed if you are turned away. (3) Please, please, please turn off your “they’re picking on me cuz I’m foreign” radar. If you are turned away from a park, it’s not because you’re foreign. It’s likely it’s because the park is full.
   
• (4/1 9.24am) Happy April Fool's Day: Normally we love to play a fast one on everyone with some April Fool's pranks. However, given the current flow of disinformation surrounding the COVID-19 crisis, we've decided that a joke about that subject would likely cause more anxiety than chuckles. Be careful what you're reading out there today; there's likely to be some things out there that are looking for a laugh at an inopportune time.
   
• (3/31 8.54pm) Expect a Numbers Jump Tomorrow: Starting tomorrow (Apr 1), China will begin reporting "positive but asymptomatic cases" nationwide as part of their daily COVID-19 stats package. China has been tracking these people (and quarantining them for 14 days) since mid-February when they changed the diagnostic criteria for patients, but their numbers have not been given in daily reports. As of yesterday, there are 1,541 asymptomatic carriers nationwide, with 205 of them flying in from abroad. An asymptomatic carrier is someone that has tested positive for the virus but has not shown any symptoms of the disease.
   
• (3/31 8.44pm) Health App Goes Foreigner Friendly: Finally, a laowai-friendly version of the app that allows Beijingers to prove that they are in good health and have completed the necessary 14-day quarantine in the capital is available. Here's how to use it.
   
• (3/31 9.16am) America's Basketball Players in Beijing Do Their Part in Coronavirus Fight: Stephon Marbury and Jeremy Lin, two American b-ball stars who call Beijing home, are doing their part to help in the fight against the coronavirus.
   
• (3/30 12:51pm) Xiaotangshan Released First Patient: Xiaotangshan Hospital, the amazing facility that was originally built during SARS, eventually mothballed and just rebuilt for COVID-19, has released its first recovered patient since opening Mar 16. The hospital has screened over 2,000 people and at its peak has handled 394 people in one day. A total of 43 cases have been discovered during that time.
   
• (3/30 9.28am) Hubei Folks Begin to Return: Over 7,000 people from Hubei have returned to Beijing over the past few days and are quarantining at their local residence or at government-designated hotels, the Beijing News reports. Those that have returned so far are applied to return to Beijing and have taken special trains from the province and are met at the station by volunteers that arrange transport to their local communities.
   
• (3/29 3.59pm) 1 of 3 Beijing Expats Trapped Abroad: A survey sent to over 3,000 people via WeChat indicates that 32 percent – or nearly 1 in 3 – of Beijing's expat population is outside of China and unable to return now that the PRC has temporarily suspended entry to even valid visa-holding foreigners, with no timetable for when the restriction will be lifted.
   
• (3/28 4.32pm) Banding Together: China's enterprising record labels have pooled their resources, creating compilations to help raise money for the ongoing issues faced by medical staff and citizens of Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak
   
• (3/27 8.11pm) Remember Your Senior Year of High School? Many of us would agree that it was one of the most memorable years of our life. Between graduation, college acceptance letters, Prom, and the knowledge that it’s the last year spent in your hometown (and parents’ house no less), it’s a time that we both never want to end, and can’t get past soon enough. For the class of 2020, most of these traditions were devastated by COVID-19. In this series, beijingkids chats with Seniors to find out the extent of the impact to their final year of High School and what they’re doing to salvage those memories.
   
• (3/27 2.01am) No Foreigners In After Midnight Saturday: China will temporarily block all foreigners from entering the country beginning at midnight tonight, even those with valid visas. There are very few exceptions to this rule. More on this breaking story here.
   
• (3/26 10.31pm) Severe New Restrictions on Inbound Flights: Chinese and foreign airlines will be restricted to one route per country per week as of Mar 29, the Civil Aviation Administration of China announced today. Additionally, seating on every flight shall be capped at 75 percent capacity. The notice said that cargo flights will operate as normal. The CAAC also warned that further adjustments could be announced at any time. The announcement comes at a time when local transmission of the coronavirus has been contained but increasing numbers continue to come in on overseas flights.
   
• (3/26 10.22pm) Support Your Local F&B Venue: As more venues start to reopen, more deals are surfacing to lure you from your very comfy couch. Here is a selection of events and promotions that Beijing's bars and restaurants are offering to get you through the door without breaking the bank.
   
• (3/26 5.29pm) Hotels Turning Away Foreigners? Reports are trickling in that some hotels are turning away foreign guests – though this does not appear to be an official edict. We take a closer look here.
   
• (3/26 11.42am) When Will School Be Back in Session? There's still no set dates for Beijing, but already a dozen provinces have started to choose dates for the restart of in-person classes. Our sister site beijingkids is updating this post daily with everything we hear from schools, education commissions, and official sources.
   
• (3/25 6.31pm) Five New Infections Reported, All Students Returning from Abroad: Five new infections were reported in Beijing today, all students flying home from abroad, according to the Beijing News. One of them was a 16-year-old Chinese exchange student who told doctors here that her school would not allow students to wear masks on campus.
   
• (3/25 4.24pm) Stories from Beijing's Front Lines: We've already profiled 25 Beijing folks on how they're dealing with the outbreak in our Beijing Bunker series. How about your story? If you have an interesting experience to share, send an email to editor@thebeijinger.com and tell us about it.
   
• (3/25 3.28pm) Families Separated For Quarantine: There's a lot of anxiousness over the rules on at-home vs. hotel quarantine, particularly when it involves children. Beijingkids writer Drew Pittock explains why the city government is taking those steps here.
   
• (3/25 12.48am) Beijing Now Testing All Overseas Arrivals: Everyone landing in Beijing from overseas will now be given a Covid-19 test. Here's what you can expect.
   
• (3/24 6.50pm) First Report of a Local Transmission Traced to Overseas Returnee: For the first time during the COVID-19 epidemic, a local transmission has been traced to an overseas returnee. Of the 32 new infections reported yesterday, one is suspected of picking it up from someone from in his Haidian residence at Dahe Zhuangyuan (大河庄苑) on Suzhou Jie. The 42-year-old Beijinger started feeling sick on Mar 10 and was eventually hospitalized on Mar 23. Another resident in his building had returned from the UK on Mar 5, before the mandatory quarantine for all international arrivals was implemented. That resident developed a fever on Mar 9 and was confirmed with COVID-19 on Mar 12. The two shared the same stairwell in their building, where the transmission is believed to have occurred.
   
• (3/24 6.39pm): First Confirmation of a Foreign Passport Holder with Covid-19 in Beijing: In today's report of new infections, one person was listed as an Albanian passport holder, the first we've seen of anything in official Chinese media confirming that a foreigner in Beijing has Covid-19. We suspect there might be others, though there has been no official tally of the nationality of Beijing's 554 infections to date.
   
• (3/24 5.58pm) Four Expats Denied Entrance: At least four foreigners have been denied entrance upon landing in Beijing for violating regulations in place due to Covid-19, the city government announced at today’s press conference. Regulations have been in place since Mar 3 that all those entering from abroad must conduct a 14-day quarantine; however border patrol examining entry and exit data discovered these four had re-entered China more than once within 14 days, meaning they had failed to adhere to quarantine regulations.
   
• (3/24 2.27pm) Badaling Great Wall Reopens: Those looking for some fresh air and to beat normally heavy crowds could do better than booking a trip to the Badaling Great Wall on a weekday. The popular tourist area reopened today, and will be open daily from 9am to 4pm. Crowds will be limited to 30 percent of normal capacity and health checks are in place. We suggest you book in advance, which can be done via their WeChat account GreatWall-badaling. The site is in Chinese only and requires a passport or Chinese ID to book.
   
• (3/24 1.48pm) Has Your Landlord Told You They Can't Rent to Foreigners? Here's what we know about this situation and what you should do.
   
• (3/24 9.19am) New High for New Reported Infections: 32 Beijing just hit a one-day peak for newly reported infections, with a total of 32 reported yesterday. All but one are cases of people who flew in from overseas, while the remaining one is a local infection that is connected to an overseas case. Beijing's previous one-day high was 31, reported on Feb 2, over seven weeks ago. One glimmer of hope, despite this bad news: given Beijing’s strict quarantine system, virtually none of these folks have been out and about in the city, potentially spreading the virus. Also note that this doesn’t mean that 31 sick people were pulled off flights yesterday; it’s the total of new imported infections reported, which will include some that have been symptomatic on inbound flights and some who have turned up sick after being placed in quarantine.
   
• (3/23 7.47pm) Beijing Zoo Reopens After a Two Month Hiatus: Finally, some good news among all this doom and gloom: the Beijing Zoo has officially reopened as of today, after a closure of two months. While not one of the world's best zoos, it's one of the world's cheapest at 10 kuai and makes for at the very least a pleasant place to wander and spring brings Beijing's plant life into bloom.
   
• (3/23 12.11pm) Mainly Family Infections: Family members who have had close contact with those who have contracted Covid-19 are more than five times as likely to contract the disease as those that have had contact with others carrying the disease, Beijing officials announced at yesterday’s press conference on the Covid-19 epidemic. The rate of transmission amongst family members is 17 percent, while the rate of transmission from contact with ill people in other social settings has been only 3 percent. The overwhelming majority of cases in Beijing — up to 86 percent — have been family clusters, with the largest cluster being seven members of the same family.
   
• (3/22 10.47pm) No More Direct Flights to Beijing:  All international flights into Beijing will be rerouted to one of 12 cities prior to landing in the capital beginning at midnight tonight, the Civil Aviation Administration of China announced this afternoon.
   
• (3/22 12.15pm) 85% of All Currently Hospitalized in Beijing Came from Overseas: 13 new infections were reported yesterday in Beijing, all flying in from overseas. That brings Beijing’s case total to 512, with 97 of them, or 19%, flying in from overseas. Of the 106 patients still under treatment in Beijing, 90 of them are people who flew in from overseas. Of the 415 local infections, 8 have died and 391 (or 94%) have left treatment. 
   
• (3/21 6.22pm) Changping Resident Tests Positive After Four Negative Tests: A 27-year-old Liaoning man is in critical condition in Beijing after flying in from New York City and testing negative four times, the city government announced in today’s press conference on the COVID-19 situation. The man traveled to NYC from Feb 28 to Mar 10 for business and said he wore a mask whenever he went out. He left the US on the 11th, flew through Hong Kong, and landed in Beijing on the 12th, passing all medical tests at the airport before going off to do a residential self-quarantine in Changping. However, he developed a fever on Mar 13, and the next day reported it to his neighborhood committee. He was transferred to the hospital where he was tested via pharyngeal swab on Mar 14, 15, 17 and 18 — each time coming up negative. On the 19th, he tested positive via a sputum test and was reconfirmed as positive yesterday. He is currently listed as being in critical condition.
   
• (3/21 1.44pm) Do Any Foreigners in China Have COVID-19? Depends on how you define it -- ethnically non-Chinese? Foreign passport holders? Does it even matter? We take a look at the stats here.
   
• (3/20 10.19pm) Chinese Airlines to Reduce Inbound Flights: Chinese airlines will reduce the number of incoming flights into China over the coming weeks in an effort to reduce the importation of new infections, the China Daily reports. Over 1,000 inbound passenger flights are scheduled for the coming week. No specific reduction targets were given in the article.
   
• (3/20 9.29pm) Beijing Calls for a Revolution in Dining Habits: Today's Beijing city press conference on the COVID-19 situation called for a revolution in Chinese dining habits, abandoning the custom of diners taking food directly from common plates with their own chopsticks, and instead using sets of serving chopsticks (公筷 gōng kuài) and serving spoons (公勺 gōng sháo). Though the custom of using the chopsticks you eat with to take food directly from shared plates at the center of the table has been the custom for generations, officials are now suggesting this behavior be eliminated both at home and in restaurants, calling on restaurants to provide serving chopsticks/serving spoons with every meal. Officials noted that a considerable percentage of local transmissions of COVID-19 have been traced back to common meals.
   
• (3/20 8.49am) Still No Opening Dates for Beijing Schools: Our sister site beijingkids is tracking reopening dates for schools in Beijing and across China, and every time they hear something (from official sources or from schools themselves, they are reporting them in this blog. To date, Beijing has not announced reopening dates, though several inland provinces are either already back or planning to restart soon, Check beijingkids daily for the latest updates.
   
• (3/19 10.21pm) Four Flights to be Diverted: China's Civil Aviation Administration officially announced this evening the first list of flights that will be diverted from landing in Beijing, according to the Global Times. They are: CA910 from Moscow to Beijing on Mar 20 will be rerouted through Tianjin; CA934 from Paris to Beijing on Mar 22, will also be routed through Tianjin; CA926 from Tokyo to Beijing from Mar 20 to Mar 22 will be routed through Hohhot; HU7976 from Toronto to Beijing on Mar 21 and Mar 22 will be routed through Taiyuan. It is unclear if this is permanent, or just test cases for these dates. All passengers will disembark and go through medical tests and customs in these destinations. Passengers that are sick will be hospitalized there; other passengers will reboard and go to Beijing.
   
• (3/19 9.56pm) New Mask Regs: Well, not really all that new, as it's pretty much been this way since the beginning, but a clarification that yes indeedie if you are outside in the open air and there is no one within 1 meter of you, feel free to let it all hang out and take off that mask. But remember to get to Point A to Point B anywhere in Beijing usually involves crossing paths with others, so bring your mask with you so you can wear it when you're going past your apartment door staff and through gates and the like.
   
• (3/19 3.32pm) Change in Who Must Quarantine in Hotels: Late last night the city government modified the policy of which international arrival passengers would be required to quarantine in a hotel vs at home. Individuals living alone were previously allowed to quarantine at home; this exception has now been rescinded. The remaining exceptions are for people considered "not suitable" for quarantining in a hotel, which currently includes such people as those over 70 or those under 14 (and one caretaker), as well as people with chronic illnesses. Please note that these rules appear to be open to interpretation at this point.
   
• (3/19 10.43am) Imported Caseload Doubles in Three Days: 21 new infections were reported yesterday in Beijing, all from people flying in from overseas. Twenty of the passengers came in from European countries and one from South America. That raises Beijing's total new imported infection count to 64, over 13% of the city's total infection count to date. A mere three days ago, the number of imported infections stood at 31.
   
• (3/18 11.53pm) Inbound Beijing Flights to be Diverted? Truth be told, we're not sure -- reliable news sources on both sides have different takes on whether inbound international flights operated by Chinese airlines will be diverted to airports outside of Beijing. Here's what we know so far.
   
• (3/18 4.29pm) New One Day Record: 11 Imports:  Beijing has now switched to releasing new infection counts twice daily, covering midnight-noon and noon-midnight, and along with it, they’ve reported that today in the first half of the day we’ve already hit a new daily high in imported infections with 11: 5 from Spain, 4 from UK, 1 from Brazil and 1 from Luxembourg. Beijing is now clearly the "leader" in imported infections, with more than any other area of China. Beijing's 54 imports now represent 11.8% of the city's entire infection count of 458.
   
• (3/18 10.01am) The Endless Creativity of China's Anti-Virus Propaganda Banners: During the battle with COVID-19, China's literati wannabes have found their calling, unleashing their endless creativity seemingly overnight with slogans hung alongside streets, in front of neighborhoods, and pinned to otherwise bare, drab walls across the country. Read some of them here.
   
• (3/17 9.47pm) Australian Fired for Disobeying Quarantine: An Australian executive of Bayer has been fired for disobeying quarantine at home, the Global Times reports. A video of her went viral earlier this week, showing her ignoring warnings from local building management that she was not allowed to leave her apartment for 14 days. She, however, insisted on going jogging, at which point building management told her that she should at least be wearing a mask. She refused, even at one point screaming "jiu ming!" (save me) and "sao rao!" (I am being molested)! Watch the outburst here.
   
• (3/17 11.56am) CBA Plans Return: At a time when professional sports around the world have ground to a halt, the Chinese Basketball Association is planning a return to action, according to the Beijing News. Their current plan has the league starting up again in mid-April, but with only limited fans in attendance and all games played in two cities: Qingdao and Dongguan. All will be televised. The league has 40 foreign players, the most prominent of which is Jeremy Lin, who plays for the Beijing Ducks. Beijing's other team – the Beijing Royal Fighters – is coached by former NBA star and Beijing Ducks legend Stephon Marbury. Foreign players have already been asked to return to conduct the required 14-day quarantines.
   
• (3/17 8.01am) Beijing Subway Running at 20 Percent Capacity: Beijing's notoriously congested subway line is running at only 20 percent of its normal capacity, according to news reports. During yesterday's morning commute, only two lines – Line 15 and the Batong Line – exceeded 50 percent capacity.
   
• (3/16 8.57pm) Xiaotangshan Hospital Reopens: Changping's Xiaotangshan Hospital, built in an astounding seven days to deal with patients during 2003's SARS crisis but mothballed in the interim, is now back in service and ready to both quarantine and treat up to 1000 patients. This time around they spent about six weeks on the construction, starting in late January. China Daily reports the facility will be used to "observe and treat travelers who are at high risk of infection, following up on airport screenings."
   
• (3/16 6.01pm) Two Exceptions to Collective Quarantine: Today's city government press conference clarified the two conditions under which people will be allowed to do their 14-day quarantine at home: (1) the elderly over the age of 70; minors; pregnant women; and those suffering from basic diseases and other reasons that are not suitable for concentrated observation; (2) those that have a separate residence and no other co-residents. No further details were offered at the press conference. If and when we hear more, we'll clarify.
   
• (3/16 4.19pm) Dining Out v3.0: Having just released its third round of guidelines this weekend, the government hopes to set the record straight as to what you can and can't do should you wish to adventure out for a little fresh air and a restaurant-cooked meal.
   
• (3/16 2.31pm) Four More Imports: There were 4 new infections reported in Beijing yesterday, all imported again. In fact, out of 16 new infections yesterday nationwide, 4 were local transmissions in Wuhan, all the rest were imported. Some positive news: 13 of Beijing’s 16 districts have not had a new case of local transmission in over 2 weeks. Pinggu never had any, Yanqing (hasn’t had a case in 52 days); Mentougou (42 days); Huairou (38 days); Shunyi (36 days); Miyun (33 days); Shijingshan (31 days); Daxing (31 days); Fangshan (28 days); Changping (27 days); Xicheng (25 days); Tongzhou (25 days); Haidian 14 (days).
   
• (3/15 11.22pm) No More Home Quarantine for Overseas Arrivals As of midnight tonight, everyone arriving in Beijing from overseas will now be required to do a 14-day quarantine at a government-designated location at their own expense, the city government announced at its press conference at 4pm today.
   
• (3/15 12.17pm) Stories from Beijing's Front Lines: We've already profiled 22 Beijing folks on how they're dealing with the outbreak in our Beijing Bunker series. How about your story? If you have an interesting experience to share, send an email to editor@thebeijinger.com and tell us about it.
   
• (3/14 9.16pm) Latest Virus Import Couldn’t Get Tested in the US: Beijing’s latest imported infection is a Chinese woman who became ill in her adopted home of Massachusetts. She told officials here that US doctors did not give her a Covid-19 test despite her showing symptoms and making multiple trips to the hospital. The woman attended a meeting of the Biogen corporation in late February which was the source of Boston’s biggest cluster case to date and started developing symptoms on Mar 1. On Mar 3 she went to the hospital and was given an antiviral drug. Her condition did not improve and she made follow-up visits on Mar 5, Mar 10 and Mar 11, eventually showing symptoms of pneumonia. Nevertheless she was not admitted to the hospital nor was she ever given a coronavirus test. She and her husband and child decided to come back Mar 12, flying from boston to LA and arrived in Beijing in the early morning of Mar 13. One hour after boarding she complained of feeling sick and she was put in the back of the flight in an area cordoned off with curtains, where she remained for the duration of the flight. Upon arrival in Beijing she was admitted directly to the hospital, where she tested positive. She is currently under treatment and her husband and child are in quarantine.
   
• (3/14 5.34pm) MOE: Universities to Return Only After Lower Grades: China’s Ministry of Education (MOE) said yesterday that K-12 schools will be the first to reopen once COVID-19 is sufficiently contained, with universities to follow sometime after. Just to give you a feel for the challenge the ministry faces, the resumption of school involves the movement of around 300 million students, some returning not just to neighborhood schools, but across cities and even provinces. An estimated 1/4 of all of China’s 40 million college students attend school outside their home province.
   
• (3/14 12.32pm) Beijing's Death Rate About 2%: What percentage of those diagnosed with Covid-19 in Beijing have Died? Depends on how you calculate it. As of today, there as been 437 total infections; 8 people have died; 349 have left the hospital, and 80 remain under treatment. We could look at Deaths / Total Infections (8/437) and conclude 1.8%. This ignores the 80 people who are still under treatment. If we look only at decided cases (Deaths / [Deaths + Total Recovered]) we get 8/(349+8) = 2.2%. A third way of looking at this is: use this data that showed the median illness duration for survivors was 22 days (for fatalities it was 18.5 days). Thus we can look at the number of people hospitalized as of 22 days ago in Beijing -- 396 -- and divide deaths by that, giving us 8/396 or an even 2.0%.
   
• (3/14 9.59am) Another Beijing Import: One new infection was reported in Beijing yesterday, another import, this time flying in from the US. Meanwhile 7 people came out of treatment from local hospitals. Four suspected cases were also listed in today’s report, again all imports (US 2, Italy 1, Spain 1).
   
• (3/13 10.20pm) Shunyi Expo Center Being Used to Process Inbound Passengers: We've known since Wednesday that the expo center in Shunyi is now being used as a sort of processing center for incoming international passengers -- however, do date we're unlcear on which flights are being sent there and which flights are allowed to go home straight from the airport. We've set up a simple survey here to collect data. If you arrived in Beijing after Thursday, please let us know here.
   
• (3/13 9.27am) One New Infection Today, Flying in from the UK: One new infection was reported in Beijng yesterday, another import, this time from the UK. Meanwhile, 8 people were released from Beijing hospitals. Of nine new “suspected” cases (aka still awaiting test results), 8 are imported: 3 from Netherlands, 2 from Italy, 1 each from Korea, France and Austria.
   
• (3/12 3.46pm) Cannon's Becomes Second Known Coronavirus F&B Victim: Cannon's Burgers, which rose to meteoric fame three years ago, placing second in our annual Burger Cup, has apparently closed up shop, the second known outlet to have closed for good during the Covid-19 outbreak. Its shopfront on Xingfucun is now gutted and a for rent sign hangs in the window. Sadly, we don't expect to see them back. Founder Will Cannon, who has not been part of the day-to-day since moving away from Beijing, has been reached for comment but no reply yet.
   
• (3/12 3.32pm) Gyms, Pools Remain Closed: Fitness facilities are still closed until further notice as per the directive of city government officials. Don't be lazy though -- npw's the time to switch to an online-based fitness regiment.
   
• (3/12 9.26am) Beijing Education Commission Nixes Reopening Rumor: A rumor that Beijing's schools would begin reopening April 6 was shot down last night by the Beijing Education Commission, who has stated that it's still too early to say. Meanwhile, four of China's provinces have officially named starting dates for later this month. Our sister brand Beijingkids is updating all information we hear from official sources and Beijing schools themselves here.
   
• (3/12 12.35am) Mom and Three Children Amongst Newest Virus Imports: Four of the five new infections that were imported from Italy yesterday were all from the same family and traveled while ill, the Beijing News reports. The Qiu family — mom, dad and three children — are all expat residents of the northern Italian town of Bergamo hailing from Zhejiang. They run a bar there that closed for business on Feb 17. Schools were closed Feb 22, and Mr Qiu started feeling sick on Feb 27. He was eventually hospitalized on Mar 4 (where he remains to date), and on that same day Mrs Qiu began feeling sick. On Mar 8 she packed her children up and headed for Beijing, flying from Milan to Beijing via Abu Dhabi, landing on Mar 9. All four were showing symptoms upon arrival at the airport, and were confirmed as infected on Mar 10. They are currently being treated in local hospitals and are in stable condition.
   
• (3/11 9.20pm) Everybody's Favorite Hot Pot Reopens Tomorrow (But Not in Beijing): China's preeminent hot pot chain Haidilao will reopen 85 of its restaurants in 15 cities tomorrow. Unfortunately that does not include Beijing for now, but it's a good sign that we'll likely see them reopen soon here. Haidilao shut their doors Jan 26 and restarted home delivery only in portions of the country on Feb 15.
   
• (3/11 7.55pm) OK We're Back to "Everyone Quarantines": After 19 days of back and forth (and major inroads by the virus in multiple countries), we're back to: Everyone coming to Beijing must do a quarantine.
   
• (3/11 1.12pm) Overseas Imports Now the #1 Source of New Infections: Since Feb 29, 19 of Beijing's 25 reported new infections -- or 76 percent -- are people returning from overseas (specifically Italy, Iran, Spain, the UK and the US). Nationalities of these returnees were not given.
   
• (3/11 12.23pm) Beijing's Largest Cluster Case Cleared: The Fuxing Hospital outbreak, which we first reported on below on Feb 7, is 100% cleared as of today, the Beijing News reports. The outbreak peaked at 34 cases on Feb 21 and threatened to be a major cluster case. All those that had close contact with the 34 have now cleared quarantine and no new cases have been reported for 21 days.
   
• (3/11 12:09pm) Arrivals Now Processed in Special Wing of Airport: All those arriving at Beijing Capital International Airport from overseas are now being routed through one terminal to take detailed records of their health, where they've been, and where they are headed. Here's what to expect.
   
• (3/10 3.05pm) When the Going Gets Tough, Comptoirs Gets Going: Our sister brand Beijingkids spoke with the man behind one of our favorite bakeries to find out why it will take more than this crisis to see him abandon his business and the city he loves.
   
• (3/10 8.46am) Students Warned to Stay Away: Multiple foreign students in Beijing's universities who are now outside the country report warned to stay away for now or face consequences.
   
• (3/9 8.10pm) Foreign Residents Asked for Their Cooperation: The city government took considerable time during today’s Covid-19 press conference to call on foreigners to take the quarantine seriously, reminding them to minimize unnecessary outings and abide by community standards, and that foreigners and Chinese will be treated the same in this regard. 
   
• (3/9 9.06am): Back to Zero: No new cases in Beijing were reported yesterday, with seven exiting the hospital. Less than 1/4 of the 428 diagnosed patients remain under treatment. A total of 8 patients, or 1.9 percent, have died. Today’s zero is the sixth time in the last 16 days where no new infections have been reported.
   
• (3/8 12.17pm) So How Many People Can Be Seated at One Table? Beijing foodies and restaurants have been thrown for a loop after a press conference last week that suggested restaurants limit seating to one person per table.
   
• (3/7 9.01pm) Sick Travelers Under Investigation: Two Chinese families returning from Italy are under investigation for putting others at risk by disguising their symptoms while traveling, the Beijing News reports. Two siblings and their respective families, a total of eight persons, landed in Beijing Mar 4. Four are now confirmed as infected. The two siblings, long term expatriate residents of Italy, began exhibiting symptoms before the end of February while still in Italy. Before boarding the flight, they took medicine to hide their symptoms. Further investigation demonstrated that members of the families did not truthfully answer questions on the necessary Health Declaration Card upon arrival.
   
• (3/7 5.05pm) Marbury Urges Caution: American Stephon Marbury, the former NBA star turned Beijing Ducks hero, hopes his fellow countrymen take the coronavirus as seriously as China has. Marbury, coach of the Beijing Royal Fighters in the currently suspended CBA, is in New York for the premiere of a documentary on his career called A Kid from Coney Island.
   
• (3/7 4.31pm) A Moving Issue: What are you supposed to do if your lease is up during this whole affair? The Beijing Real Estate Association offers some guidance that might help you deal with your landlord.
   
• (3/7 1.46pm) First Mainland High Schoolers Head Back to Campus: High School seniors in Qinghai will become the first mainland students back to class when they report to school Mar 11. Keep up with all school announcements in this post on our sister site Beijingkids, updated daily.
   
• (3/7 10.02am) Overseas Returnees Now the Primary Source of New Infections Since Feb 29, Beijing has reported 15 new infections, and 11 of them are people coming back from overseas. That’s 73 percent.
   
• (3/7 9.30am) Ever Have One of Those Bad Days? Beijing had one yesterday. Four new infections were reported, three are returnees from Italy, and the fourth is someone who was cleared of the virus once, but now has tested positive again. The person was first admitted to the hospital Feb 6, but was released on Feb 20 after three consecutive tests showed he had been cleared of the virus. Due to "limited conditions in the home," the patient was released to a centralized quarantine facility for a 14-day observation, and on March 5 once again tested positive.
   
• (3/6 10.14pm) So What to Expect When Flying Into Beijing? Hey AWOL Beijingers: want to know what flying back into Beijing is going to be like? These are some of the things you can expect to encounter along the way, based on our first-hand experience this afternoon.
   
• (3/6 5.52pm) Almost a Million Beijingers Under Quarantine: There are currently 827,000 recent returnees to the city under 14-day quarantine, the city government announced at today’s press conference on the coronavirus outbreak. Spokesperson Zhang Tongjun said the city has entered its most critical epidemic control period and must work together to not let their guard down and maintain the discipline exhibited over recent weeks. Most of these are under self-administered home quarantine in their residence, while those suspected of being ill and those that do not have a regular residence in Beijing are quarantined in specially-designated hotels and hospital isolation wards.
   
• (3/6 3.44pm) Will Movie Theaters Reopen Soon? Guidelines for how movie theaters should operate have been set, but operators say it might be a long while yet. China Film Insider has the deets.
   
• (3/6 2:44pm) Arrivals Quarantined at "a Chinese Facility"? A US State Department advisory aimed at American travelers has unnerved a few Beijing expats who are still overseas. In it, the US said that all travelers to Beijing (as well as Shanghai, Guangdong, and Sichuan) who have recently visited a country with severe outbreaks would be quarantined "in a Chinese facility". This is true only if you are a traveler and do not have a fixed address (see this document from the Beijing Foreign Affairs Office). Otherwise, you will be allowed to do your quarantine at home. Keep in mind that if you are ill you will be going directly to a hospital for quarantine, and if you are sitting near someone who ends up being reported as infected, you will be quarantined away from home as well, most likely at a hotel.
   
• (3/5 9.13pm) More Inbound Restrictions to Come? With mandatory 14-day quarantines now required of all arrivals from outbreak-stricken areas, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs today hinted that this list could be expanded at any time. Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu said during today's press briefing that China, like all other countries, is taking measures to prevent and control the epidemic. "As the outbreak progresses, local governments in China will make timely and dynamic adjustments to the prevention and control mechanisms aimed at those coming from outside of China," he said.
   
• (3/5 8.55pm) I'll Take a Reservation for Rush Hour, Please: Tomorrow morning the Beijing Subway rolls out an experimental method of limiting close contact with other commuters by requiring digital reservations on two stations during rush hours: Line 5's Tiantongyuan and Shahe station on the Changping line. No word on whether they will expand the system to other stations later. Finer details are available in English here and you can scan one of these QRs to make your reservation.
   
• (3/5 2.20pm) Schools Advise Students, Teachers Abroad to Stay Away: With COVID-19 now spreading more rapidly overseas than inside China, many teachers and students who are currently outside of Beijing have received messages from their schools advising them not to return until a formal reopening date for schools is announced, our sister site Beijingkids reports.
   
• (3/5 2.30am) Average Age of Those Killed by Covid-19 in Beijing: 79 Of the eight deaths that have been attributed to Covid-19 Beijing so far, 7 have been over 70 years old and suffered from serious underlying diseases, Ditan Hospital VP Zhou Jianxin said yesterday. Amongst the illnesses suffered by the victims were hypertension, heart disease, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The overall average age of the deceased was 79. The specific age of the victim under 70 was not given.
   
• (3/4 11.55am) Not Their First Rodeo: Not only did SARS fail to destroy Beijing in 2003, it didn’t manage to scare away all its expats, either. We’ve asked five of them – all of whom are now business owners in the city – to tell us their tales of then and now.
   
• (3/4 9.06am) Foreign Returnees from Outbreak-Hit Areas Must Do Quarantine: Reversing a decision made 11 days ago, the city has now says that foreigners returning from countries that have seen "severe" outbreaks will now need to be quarantined for 14 days. We say: don't worry about if you have to, just do it.
   
• (3/3 12.49pm) Stories from Beijing's Front Lines: We've already profiled 17 Beijing folks on how they're dealing with the outbreak in our Beijing Bunker series. How about your story? If you have an interesting experience to share, send an email to editor@thebeijinger.com and tell us about it.
   
• (3/3 10.07am) Beijing On Pace to be Clear by Mid-Month: Beijing reported zero new infections yesterday and 6 new recoveries. For the 19th day in a row, the number of recovered patients coming out of Beijing hospitals has outpaced the number of newly infected patients going in. During that span, 48 new patients entered, and 220 recovered – or a net daily decrease in patients under treatment of 11.6. If this pace continues (and given there are only 118 patients remaining under care), we could be looking at all patients being out of the hospital in a mere 11 days.
   
• (3/2 10.40pm) Only 12 Percent Back to Regular Office Work: The vast majority of employed expatriates in Beijing continue to work from home, according to a poll the Beijinger conducted over WeChat Friday. Read the full results of our poll here.
   
• (3/2 2.43pm) Fuxing Hospital Outbreak Update: We've been following the outbreak at Xicheng's Fuxing Hospital since Feb 3, when a cluster of 9 cases was reported that had grown to 34 by Feb 20, representing the largest cluster of COVID-19 cases in Beijing. As of yesterday afternoon (Mar 1), no new infections have been reported and the number of those who are still under observation dropped to 35.
   
• (3.2 12.30pm) Second Aeroflot Flight Quarantined, This Time Partially: For the second time in three days, Flight 204 from Moscow has been stopped on the tarmac to whisk sick passengers away and quarantine others. After landing on Saturday, a Chinese citizen who was traveling from Iran was discovered to be infected and all 400 passengers were quarantined at area hotels. No word yet on whether any infections have been found on today's flight.
   
• (3.2 12.15am) All Visas Extended by Two Months: All foreigners in China whose visas are due to expire during the COVID-19 outbreak will be granted an automatic two-month extension, the State Council announced yesterday. No additional paperwork is necessary for the extension, and foreigners may exit the country as normal for up to two months after the expiration date of their current visa. The extension apparently applies to all visa types, and no deadline was given for the end date of the policy. For a Chinese statement on the rule from the National Immigration Administration, see this link. We suggest that if your visa is expiring, contact the Bureau of Entry and Exit at 8402 0101.
   
• (3/1 11.29pm) 400 Quarantined After Landing in Beijing: Approximately 400 people – including around 20 foreigners – were quarantined upon arrival after landing on a flight from Moscow that had one infected passenger on board.
   
• (3.1 4.17pm) Italian Instagrammer’s Hotel Quarantine: An Italian Instagrammer is vlogging her quarantine at an unnamed Beijing hotel. According to her videos (click on her profile video to watch), her plane arrived last night and allegedly all 400 passengers have been put into a 14-day quarantine (which, she adds, the city is paying for). The origin city of the plane was not mentioned. We’ve reached out for further details but have not heard back.
   
• (3/1 10.55am) Latest Cases Came in from Abroad: Two more coronavirus infections were reported yesterday in Beijing, with the qualification that they both came from overseas (though no mention of their nationality or when they entered Beijing was given). Meanwhile, five have been released. Beijing’s current case total is 413, with 8 deaths and 276 released. That leaves 129 people – or 31 percent – remaining in treatment in Beijing hospitals.
   
• (3/1 9.20am) Beijing Victims Mostly Over 60: Of the 8 reported victims of COVID-19 so far in Beijing, 7 of them were over 60 and 1 was between the ages of 18 and 59, the Beijing Youth Daily reported yesterday. No specific ages of the deceased were released.
   
• (2/29 7.03pm) Beijing Children’s Hospital Reports Progress: At the city's daily press briefing on the COVID-19 outbreak, Beijing’s Children’s Hospital in Xicheng reported that since they started examining possible coronavirus patients on Jan 20, only one infected patient has been discovered. The hospital has averaged about 2400 visits daily. Among those, 191 had symptoms that dictated follow-up testing for COVID-19. Of those, 165 have been ruled out while 26 remain under observation as possible cases.
   
• (2/29 2.46pm) Schools to Stagger Opening by Grades: Though no specific dates of reopening have been made for Beijing schools, the Ministry of Education suggested yesterday that schools would stagger reopening dates by grade. Our sister publication beijingkids has the story.
   
• (2/29 11.23am) After a Scary Bump, New Infections Drop Back Down in Beijing: The 10 infections that were reported in Beijing from Feb 26 got us scared for a minute that we were trending upwards, but the last two days have calmed us down a bit: There were no new infections reported Thursday and only 1 from Friday. However, during that period three more deaths were reported in Beijing, raising the city's death total to 8, which represents 1.9 percent of the city's overall 411 reported cases. Over the last two days, 30 people have been released from the hospital, meaning less than a third (132 people) remain in treatment.
   
• (2/28 1.40pm) Beijing Parks Begin Limiting Access:  Though almost every park in Beijing remains open, some have started limiting the number of people entering each day. Chaoyang Park will limit tickets to 20,000 per day to control the park from getting too crowded, the Beijing Youth Daily reported. Meanwhile, tickets to the Summer Palace are no longer being sold on-site and must be reserved one day in advance via their WeChat account (search "颐和园" in WeChat).
   
• (2/28 1.20pm) COVID-19 Claims its First Beijing F&B Casualty: Beijing's one and only Moroccan restaurant/live music venue slash sports bar has closed its doors for good, citing the current uncertain business environment as the straw that broke the camel's back.
   
• (2/27 12.42pm) Beijing Setback: Ten new cases were reported in Beijing yesterday, the highest daily total in over two weeks. All 10 worked at the same government office in Chaoyang or lived in the agency's on-site dormitory, and are assumed to have contracted the virus from one coworker who was admitted to the hospital on Feb 23. All close contacts of this person were tested, and results released yesterday showed that 10 had been infected. A further 178 people who had contact with the infected patient remain under observation.
   
• (2/27 9.55am) Wuhan Ex-Con Turns Up Sick in Dongcheng Chinese netizens are perplexed how a recently released prisoner from Wuhan was allowed to travel to Beijing, where she was admitted to a hospital Monday. According to the Global Times, the woman recently completed her sentence had been exhibiting symptoms since Feb 18 in Wuhan. She was driven back to Beijing by her family, where she took up residence at her family's home in Xinyi Jiayuan (新怡家园), just west of the New Century Department Store near Chongwenmen. She is now in a hospital in Beijing and her family and close contacts are under quarantine.
   
• (2/26 11.31pm) Fuxing Hospital Outbreak Under Control: The outbreak at Xicheng's Fuxing Hospital, the largest cluster of COVID-19 cases in Beijing, appears to be under control, according to the Beijing Youth Daily. The hospital first reported a cluster of 9 cases on Feb 3 and one ward was immediately put under quarantine. Two weeks later, the number of cases had risen to 34. As of 5pm yesterday, five days since the lifting of the quarantine, no new infections have been found, while 59 people who had contact with the infected are still under close observation.
   
• (2/26 11.09pm) Do I Have to Do a Quarantine When I Get Back? Yes. No. Maybe. Actually there's been so much flip-flopping over the past week we have no idea if you have to. However, you should do one whether anyone forces you or not. It's the responsible thing to do.
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• (2/26 5.06pm) Three Out of Four Ain't Bad For the third time in four days, there has been zero new COVID-19 infections in Beijing over the last 24-hour period. This is the 12th consecutive day where the number of recovered patients has been higher than the number of newly admitted. A total of 34 patients were admitted over the last 12 days, while 158 have recovered. This has resulted in a net decrease in patients under treatment of 124. Should this trend continue and no new major outbreaks occur, the city could be looking at having 0 patients remaining under treatment by March 12.
   
• (2/26 3.16pm) Office Space: Beijing has issued new rules to prevent overcrowding in offices such as no sitting in tight little spaces across from one another.
   
• (2/26 9.02am) School Reopening Standards Set: Masks while teaching. No large-scale events. No outsiders on campus. Temporary isolation areas for possible virus sufferers. These are just some of the 25 requirements the State Council has set forth for Beijing (and the nation at large) for creating a safe environment for all when it’s time to resume school. Visit our sister site beijingkids for the full translated list.
   
• (2/25 9.24am) More than Half Recovered: Beijing reported 1 new infection and 17 released from the hospital yesterday, meaning for the first time since the beginning of this outbreak, more than 50 percent of the confirmed patients have already recovered and have been released from the hospitals. Of 400 confirmed cases, 54 percent (215) have recovered, 45 percent (181) are still in treatment, and 1 percent (4) have died.
   
• (2/24 8.01pm) China Tourism Ministry: Don’t Travel to the US: According to a statement on the Ministry of Culture and Tourism’s website: “Recently, Chinese tourists have been treated unfairly in the United States due to the excessive vaccination measures and the country’s domestic security situation. Chinese tourists should be vigilant and should not travel to the United States."
   
• (2/24, 5.25pm) Nine Districts Clear 10-Day Mark: Nine of Beijing’s 16 districts have not had a single new infection in over 10 days, The Beijing News reports. Daxing and Shijingshan (10 days), Dongcheng and Miyun (12 days), Shunyi (15 days), Huairou (17 days), Mentougou (21 days), Yanqing (31 days). Pinggu has yet to report any infections at all.
   
• (2/24 2.07pm) Let 'Er Rip: Citing experts in the matter, The Global Times reported yesterday that farts do not spread the coronavirus ... unless "someone takes a good and rather close sniff of gas from a pantless patient," they stated.
   
• (2/24 11.02am) Second Day of Zero New Infections in Beijing: Two days in a row with no infections reported has caused many a Beijinger to sigh with relief and start seeing the end of this tunnel, However, the city government has reiterated that this is not the time to relax. Given returnees are continuing to pour back into the city and returning to work, it pays for everyone to continue to demonstrate the vigilance they have shown so far. In yesterday's press conference on the coronavirus situation, officials reiterated a series of rules that need to be adhered to, such as: individuals should wear masks in public areas and avoid gathering in groups; office buildings should set an upper limit of people allowed in the building at one time; and restaurants and shops should remove their thermal hanging door guards and set up 1-meter lines to prevent crowding.
   
• (2/23 9.30pm) Beijing Warns of Complancency: A sunny weekend in Beijing combined with low infection numbers resulted in the city's public parks being veritable beehives of actvity, so much so that there were actual traffic jams (remember traffic jams?) outside Xiangshan Park. The city's excellent public parks are some of the few recreational distractions available for a populace that has seen most indoor amusements closed. As a result, the city has decided to limit crowds by closing off most of Xiangshan's parking lots until further notice. The rest of the park system (and presumably their parking lots) remain unaffected.
   
• (2/23 10.17am) The Big Zero: For the first time since Beijing began daily reporting of COVID-19 infections on Jan 21, there has been zero new infections reported over the last 24-hour period. Over the same period, 11 additional Beijing patients have recovered, lowering the total of currently hospitalized patients in the city to 206. This is the 10th consecutive day in Beijing where the number of recovered patients has been higher than the number of newly admitted. A total of 33 patients were admitted over the last 10 days, while 121 have recovered. This has resulted in a net decrease in patients under treatment of 88 over this 10-day period. Should this trend continue and no new major outbreaks occur, the city could be looking at having 0 patients remaining under treatment by March 17.
   
• (2/22 3.21pm) Frogs Are For the Eatin': In response to the coronavirus outbreak, China has cracked down on the wildlife trade, banning the storagem slaughter and serving of wild animals in restaurants. That apparently does not cover frogs, which remain a popular item on local menus.
   
• (2/21 10.53pm) Quarantine Rules Eased, 7 Types Exempted: People returning from more than 14 days outside of China as well as short-term visitors to the city will no longer be asked to observe a two-week quarantine, city officials announced this afternoon.
   
• (2/21 12:54pm) Beijing's Retail Mecca Slow: For the first time in maybe forever, it is now possible to cross Sanlitun's main intersection in broad daylight without fear of being flattened by a 19-year-old in a Peppa Pig-decalled Lamborghini. Anna Hartley reports from the scene.
   
• (2/21 10.58am) Obnoxious Door Guards Should Be Removed: Beijing has asked markets and other public establishments to take down the plastic and fabric door curtains that hang at their main entrances. They are typically used to retain heat or cooling, and in some districts, required for pest control, according to some Beijing restaurant owners. However, officials are now prioritizing air circulation in indoor areas as a virus control mechanism, They also look like a great ways to spread a virus to us.
   
• (2/20 10.33pm) Update on the Fuxing Hospital Outbreak: 36 people have now reportedly been infected by the coronavirus at Xicheng’s Fuxing Hospital, in what is shaping up to be Beijing’s biggest cluster to date. Amongst the infected are 8 medical staff, 9 cleaning staff, and 19 patients and their relatives. The 36 infections represent nearly one in 10 of Beijing’s 395 total reported infections so far. The hospital, just outside the west 2nd Ring Road near Muxidi, first reported a cluster of 9 cases on Feb 3, which grew to 15 by Feb 7. The hospital has also identified 668 people who have had contact with the infected. Of those, 582 have been cleared while 79 are still quarantined and 7 are being monitored at home. The origin of the infection has been traced to a patient that had been admitted to the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit in the hospital’s South Ward.
   
• (2/20 6.38pm) 29 Foreigners Infected So Far in China: The State Council Information Office reported today that 29 foreigners in China have been infected by the coronavirus. Ten are from Hubei but no place of residence data was given for the remaining 19. Of the 29, two have died, 18 have recovered and been released from the hospital, and 9 remain under treatment. The Chinese side has informed all foreign patients’ relevant embassies and consulates of their condition.
   
• (2/20 4.05pm) Dual-Income Families Protected: Parents that both work and have children under 18 will be allowed to have mom or dad stay home to take care of the kids without fear of termination or having their pay docked, Beijing’s Social Security bureau clarified last week. beijingkids has the story.
   
• (2/20 12.51pm) Confusion is the Word of the Hour: There's much discussion regarding an announcement made yesterday to many embassies by the Beiijng Foreign Affairs Office: Allegedly foreigners returning from being overseas for more than the last two weeks do not have to observe a 14-day quarantine upon arrival. Here's what we know so far.
   
• (2/19 10.51pm) New Beijing Covid-19 Record Set: Beijing set a new coronavirus record yesterday: for recoveries. Twenty-three people were released from the hospital yesterday (Feb 18), while only 6 new infections were admitted. That is the 6th consecutive day that recoveries have exceeded admissions, with 27 going in and 77 being released over that period. That means city’s total caseload has decreased by 50 in less than a week. It’s a little crazy to forecast, but if this trend continues, it will be just over a month before the current caseload of 244 is reduced to zero.
   
• (2/19 9.27am) Masking Questions: Do the masks we Beijingers have long gotten used to wearing during the city's many bouts of air pollution help protect us from viruses? Here's what Beijing air experts Smart Air have to say on the matter (and here they discuss whether your home filter can do the same) And how do we dispose of these masks properly after we use them? We tap into some expert opinion here.
   
• (2/18 8.45pm) Center of Town Shows Signs of Life: Dongcheng and Xicheng, the two districts in the geographic center of the city, are showing signs of slowly returning to normal. Vehicular and pedestrian traffic is heavier by the day, with lots of local residents walking around either shopping or taking in yesterday’s bout of very fresh air.
   
• (2/18 3.01pm) Call the Police if You're Blocked from Your Apartment: Isolated reports have been trickling in from people who have been denied entrance to their apartment. Simply put: It's illegal for your neighborhood committe or building management to block you from entering your apartment unless you are running a fever. Read more here.
   
• (2/17 7.56pm) Parks Remain Open Despite the closure of a good chunk of Beijing's indoor attractions, the vast majority of the city's public parks remain open. In fact, the only park we're aware of being closed is the Beijing Zoo. Here's a partial list of ones we can confirm remain open: Beihai Park, Beijing Botanical Gardens, Chaoyang Park, Ditan Park, Fragrant Hills, Jingshan Park, Ritan Park, Side Park, Summer Palace, Taoranting Park, Tiantan Park, Yuyuantan Park, Zhongshan Park, and Zizhuyuan Park. Indoor attractions and paid play areas such as children's rides and team sports venues within the parks remain closed. Check out our intros to several of these parks here.
   
• (2/17 10.30am) Hotel Guests Need to Quarantine Too Beijing's hotels, already devastated by across-the-board cancellations, are now grappling with the fact that they'll need to quarantine their guests too. Here's what we're hearing from the city's hoteliers.
   
• (2/17 7.51am) Don't Go Back to Work Before Quarantining Yourself: With another wave of returnees expected back at work in Beijing this morning, the Beijing News yesterday reported this story of office-based transmission: A white-collar office worker goes home for CNY, eats with family, notices a few people have a cold but thinks nothing of it at the time, comes back to Beijing, goes to work, then hears from his family back home that several have fallen ill. Shortly thereafter, he gets sick himself. As a result, "dozens" of his co-workers have been rounded up and placed in quarantine for observation, and one person he had lunch with has already tested positive as well. The timing of the story sounds a bit like a parable to warn people about going back to the office before finishing their 14-day self-quarantine, which is now mandatory for all people who return to Beijing.
   
• (2/16 5.56pm) All Dongcheng Residences Under Closed Management: Dongcheng District officials said today that all 784 residential housing complexes are now under “closed management” (封闭式管理), indicating that entry and exit is now monitored and recorded. The district, one of Beijing’s smallest in terms of geography, is home to 794,000 residents, less than five percent of the city’s overall population.
  
  (2/16 4.36pm) Profiles in Quarantine How are Beijingers like you and me dealing with the quarantine? In our Beijing Bunker series, we're profiling the differing ways people are taking to get through this difficult time. We've already documented six stories and we're looking for more -- if you have an interesting experience to share, send an email to editor@thebeijinger.com and we'll be in touch.
   
• (2/16 11.21am) Jonesin’ for Some Waimai? Despite the quarantine, there are still tons of places delivering these days. Sherpa’s is back online after a brief hiatus, joining delivery apps such as JSS, Elema, and Meituan in keeping you fed even if you’re cooped up at home. Even some spots that previously only had dine-in services, such as Hulu and Susu, have entered the delivery game. For those that read Chinese, the city government has released this list of 2,471 Beijing restaurants that are offering delivery service.
   
• (2/16 9.19am) Quarantine Enforcement Spotty: Expat residents say enforcement of the now mandatory 14-day self-quarantine for returnees to Beijing has been spotty. Here's what it's like out there as of yesterday.
   
• (2/15 6.38pm) Quick Snapshot of the Recovered: Beijing released a quick snapshot today of the people so far that have recovered from COVID-19 in the city. So far 97 people have recovered and been released from the hospital, while 4 have died. The average hospital stay for the recovered has been 13.5 days and their average age is 39 years old. Similar data was not provided for the four deaths, but presuming these four followed a similar case progression timeline (13.5 days), we can now get a clearer picture of the actual "deadliness" of this virus. Counting back to 14 days ago, we find that 168 people were in the hospital as of Feb 1. Four of those have died, so that gives us a 2.4% death rate. Those more pessimistic (or realistic) could say we should only look at “decided cases” and calculate from there, aka [dead / (dead+recovered)], which thus would be [4 / (4+97)]= a 4.0% death rate. Let’s see how it looks again in a few days.
   
• (2/15 3:21pm) New Record for Recoveries in Beijing Yesterday we set a new COVID-19 record in Beijing: 18 recovered patients left the hospital, clear of the virus. That's six more than the previous daily record of 12 set Feb 12. That means that of the 375 infections in Beijing so far, more than a quarter (97 to be exact) have already been released. On the bad side, one more person passed away from the disease yesterday, bringing the death toll in Beijing to 4.
   
• (2/15 8.29am) Family Transmission: 91 percent of the clusters of COVID-19 infection in Beijing have been traced to transmissions within family members at this point... here are some suggestions from Beijing authorities on prevention at home. 
   
• (2/14, 11.50pm) All Beijing Returnees Subject to 14-Day Quarantine Everyone returning to Beijing from tomorrow (Saturday, Feb 15) onward will be expected to observe a 14-day quarantine at home or at an area designated for observation, according to an announcement this evening by Beijing authorities relased by multiple media outlets. The notice also states that you are required to notify both your place of work and your place of residence prior to returning. Those that re-enter Beijing without showing symptoms will be allowed to self-quarantine at home, but those exhibiting symptoms -- or unlucky enough to have been traveling in close quarters with someone with symptoms -- will be sent to the hospital or potentially quarantined at some other form of public quarantine facility.
   
• (2/14 8.06pm) Time Out Called on Sports: COVID-9 is knocking organized sports in Beijing for a loop. China’s pro basketball league has indefinitely postponed the start of their second half; pro football is in the same boat. The Men's Skiing World Cup, originally to take place in 2022 Olympics venues in Yanqing, has been moved to Austria. The China Open snooker competition due to start at the end of March has been shelved. And the Hong Kong Sevens, a big draw for many a Beijing expat, has been postponed from April to October. Sport24 has a list of other China-wide sports events that have been shelved.
   
• (2/14 3.00pm) "Revenue has dropped 95%" Nightlife blogger Beijing Boyce has a harrowing look at how the city's bar and restaurant business is getting hammered by the coronavirus. Some expect it will be months before business returns to normal.
   
• (2/14 12.38pm) Beijing's Youngest COVID-19 Patient Released: Huzzah! Beijing’s youngest COVID-19 patient, a 9-month-old little girl the media is calling Qiqi, was released from Ditan Hospital this morning along with her mom and sister, all cleared of the virus. The Beijing News reported this morning that the mother of the two children was part of a family of seven that had come to Beijing for vacation from Wuhan when three of them fell ill. Both mom and Qiqi entered the hospital on Jan 26. Qiqi's older sister contracted the disease and ended up with them in the same hospital room on Feb 1. The children's father also contracted the disease but was treated and released last week from another Beijing hospital. In total mom and little Qiqi spent 19 days in the hospital while sis spend 13 before being released. Best News Ever!
   
• (2/14 9.11am) Snow Falls, Roads Close: Five Beijing-area highways have been temporarily shut as of 8am this morning as the city public works department gears for the impact of today's snowfall. The flakes have already begun falling and the following roads have been shut in both directions until further notice: Jingha Expressway (from Bailu to downtown) 京哈高速白鹿至市界; Beijing-Tianjin (Jingjin) Expressway (from Taihu to downtown) 京津高速台湖至市界;  Shouhuan Expressway (Beijing section) 首环高速北京段; Jingcheng Expressway (from Miyun District to Simatai) 京承高速密云城区至司马台路段; Jingping Expressway (from Wugezhuang to downtown) 京平高速吴各庄至市界. Watch for the wingnut conspiracy theorists (who don't get that the city still doesn’t have its full public works staff back and the hospitals are focused on virus control and do not need a flurry of traiffc accidents to add to their burden) to claim this is all part of the plan to trap us, yadda yadda yadda.
   
• (2/13 8.57pm) Sanlitun Walkabout: An afternoon walkabout through the Sanlitun area showed that activity remains well below its normal hustle and bustle, but the neighborhood is by no means deserted. Topwin Center's food court is almost completely empty, though April Gourmet and one or two of the restaurants downstairs were open. Taikooli South had many shops open, though none brimming with customers and only a handful of people were walking through. Hulu was bustling, with ten tables of customers -- mostly foreign -- having lunch. Speaking of lunch, an earlier swingby of the nearby Chaoyang Hospital saw long lines at the staff canteen but zero people at their designated fever clinic. Despite the situation looking gloomy in places like Wuhan, Beijing is still far from reaching anything close to capacity in fighting this virus.
   
• (2/13 12.38pm) What About Love? Have you forgotten? Tomorrow is Valentine's Day. Here are some ideas to celebrate.
   
• (2/13 9.07am) Access Control Tightening: Beijing residents are reporting a sharp increase in access control to residential compounds and public places such as shopping malls as the city deepens its resolve to stop the spread of the virus. One Park Avenue resident reports that all residents coming into the compound must pass through a "disinfecting tent" fogged with a funny smelling chemical. Others have reported that non-residents are no longer allowed in for visits to their compounds. One of the drivers of the tightening is the fact that a huge portion of the city's migrant residents have yet to return to the capital from CNY holidays, throwing a bit of a wild card into the city's attempts to slow social contact and thus the spread of the virus.
   
• (2/12 9.20pm) School’s Still Out: Spent most of the day fielding questions from teachers and parents: when will school start again in Beijing? Simply put, there’s still no date set, and we’re not going to know until we see a steep, sustained decline in the number of infections in Beijing. This much we know: be it public school, private school or after-school program, city officials have said clearly: no off-line classes for now. Public schools are still on their normal annual Chinese New Year break and were originally due back Feb 17; the education commission says this has officially been delayed, though they have deliberately avoided the mention of another start date. Many private international schools have forecasted they will start no earlier than Mar 2. In the meantime, most have already started or are preparing some form of online learning. Our sister site beijingkids is keeping up with all we know on their blog here.
   
• (2/12 1.15pm) Need an Aspirin? Bring ID: Pharmacies around town have been instructed to record the ID of all purchasers of fever and cough medicine and deliver a daily report of such purchases, The Beijing News reports.
   
• (2/12 9.41am) A Beijing Stats Update: We're trying not to be so obsessed with stats these days, but we also can't help sharing what we're seeing about Beijing so far. The city's number of new infections has been on the decline since reaching a peak of around 30 on Feb 2; that's a 10-day trend downward. We've had 3 deaths so far and 48 dismissed from the hospital – so the death rate per confirmed outcome is 5.9 percent; if you'd like to take a rosier view, we could look at deaths (3) per confirmed cases (342), which gives us a 0.9 percent death rate. Another way to calculate it would be: how many confirmed cases were there 10 days ago (a somewhat random guess as to how long long people might spend in the hospital before an outcome – death or recovery – occurs). As of Feb 2, there were 212 confirmed cases in Beijing, and thus  [deaths / confirmed cases 10 days ago] gives us a 1.4 percent death rate
   
• (2/12 8.37am) Roommate a Big Careless Slob? So you're totally down with your own hygiene and social habits for preventing exposure to the virus. Now, what about your roommates? Here are some guidelines on how to deal with them.
   
• (2/11 1.49pm) Beijing Families Separated: Some Beijing-based diplomats and business people, particularly those with kids, are sending their families home until this outbreak blows over. Here's how one family is dealing with it.
   
• (2/11 10.15am) Beijing United's Fever Clinic Reopened: Beijing United, one of the most popular hospitals for Beijing's expat community, briefly closed their Fever Clinic last week for upgrades, and is now open again. The hospital is one of over 100 citywide that is authorized to screen fever patients. A full list is here.
   
• (2/10 3.46pm) Nanluoguxiang Pledges to Stay Closed: Popular walking street Nanluguxiang will remain closed until the outbreak is over, the Beijing News reports. What few shops on the street that had been open over the past two weeks were shut over the weekend. Xu Yanbiao, chair of the street’s merchant association, said the health and safety of the neighborhood takes precedence. Xu asked local businesses to keep paying their employees and also called on landlords to offer rent reductions to merchants whose revenue has dried up as a result of the closures.
   
• (2/10 9.15am) First Official Day Back to Work: It’s the first “official” day back at work for many across Beijing, and my n=1 observation is that traffic has increased significantly from last week and over the weekend, though a mere fraction of the usual Monday morning commute. For the record, we here at True Run Media worked from home last week and will continue to do so for this week.
   
• (2/9 8.35pm) 70 Percent of Expats Remain in Beijing: A quick poll circulated in seven Beijing expat-oriented WeChat groups today shows that about 70 percent remain in Beijing and have no plans to leave, despite the outbreak. About 12 percent have left temporarily, and another 7 percent plan to leave soon. The remaining 11 percent are still overseas from CNY and are already scheduled to return or searching for routes back. Almost none have decided to depart permanently.
   
• (2/9 7.05pm) When to Wear a Mask? The city government’s epidemic prevention and control office clarified this today at their daily press briefing, the Beijing News reports. When outside: not necessary when driving your own car, walking alone in the park or when in wilderness areas. As long as it’s an open-air area that has not been reported as harboring infections, there is no need to wear a mask. Masks should be worn when using public transport, in markets, in elevators and wherever there tend to be crowds of people – regardless if it’s indoor or outdoor. At home: no need to wear masks unless you or a family member is sick. In offices: masks are not necessary as long as there is good air circulation, low seating density and there are controls in place to monitor the health of all staff.
   
• (2/9 11.32am) Keeping Mom Calm: Those of us who have chosen to remain in Beijing are now being flooded by an onslaught of questions, comments, concerns, and calls to return home from loved ones back home. Beijingkids has a look at how some Beijing residents are dealing with it. 
   
• (2/9 8.28am) Beijing Train of Transmission: In yesterday’s city press conference, officials offered details of the chain of transmission in one case in Beijing. Ms. A was in Wuhan from Jan 5-7 for vacation. On Jan 7 she flew to Beijing, and on the 8th she started developing symptoms, but just took some cold medicine and felt better. On Jan 11 at 5pm, Ms. A, her husband, and their two daughters went to the home of Ms. B, where the two families dined together and then went out to a Karaoke. By Jan 24, Mr. and Ms. B were both feeling sick, but nevertheless decided to go visit relatives to give them CNY greetings, where they interacted with 7 people, 5 of which ended up contracting the virus. On Jan 25, Ms. B also went to the office where she transmitted it to her colleague, C.
   
• (2/8 6.59pm) Disease Caused By Virus Gets Name: First we had the Wuhan Coronavirus. Then Novel Coronavirus. Then the awkward 2019-nCoV. Now, according to an announcement made today by China’s National Health Committee we have an “official” name for the disease caused by this microscopic little menace: Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia, or NCP.
   
• (2/8 5.53pm) The Big Return: As of Feb 2, Beijing still had an estimated 8 million residents (of its 21 million or so population) that have yet to return to the capital. The combination of extended holidays, public transport restrictions, school postponements, and work from home arrangements have eased the mad rush back.
   
• (2/8 9.34am) Are You Supposed to Wear a Mask or Not?: Frankly, we have no idea anymore. The World Health Organization says don't bother unless you're sick. This Canadian physician and medical adviser to the International Air Transport Association says it may even be worse than not wearing a mask However, this we know for sure: Beijing has made it mandatory to wear masks in public places such as markets and public transportation, and those that don't will be subject to a verbal warning or possibly even detention.
   
• (2/8 9.11am) Afterschool Program Gets Spiked: An afterschool art program that bucked the education ministry's directive to hold no off-line classes has been shut down and had its license revoked, signaling how serious the city is about making sure an outbreak doesn't occur in student populations. Beijingkids has the story here. In the meantime, most international schools are still in limbo on their reopening dates, with several targeting March as the earliest. We're tracking school announcements here.
   
• (2/7 10.18pm) Fuxing Hospital Outbreak: A possibly ugly situation is arising at Fuxing Hospital, one of the approximately 100 hospitals in Beijing with designated fever clinics. The hospital, just outside the west 2nd Ring Road near Muxidi, first reported a cluster of 9 cases on Feb 3, which has now grown to 15, including 6 medical staff, 5 patients and 4 nurses, according to the Beijing News. The origin of the infection has been traced to the Cardiology Intensive Care Unit and the building it is located in, the south ward, has been put under complete quarantine. A list of 172 additional people the 15 have been in contact with is being investigated. Other parts of the hospital remain in normal operation and the area surrounding the hospital is safe, officials told the Beijing News. 
   
• (2/7 8.07pm) New Data Point for Beijing: Today’s daily press conference on the 2019-nCoV outbreak brings a new data point for Beijing: suspected cases. According to a report this evening in the Beijing News, Beijing now has 157 suspected cases, in addition to the already confirmed 297 cases. Suspected cases are those who are currently showing symptoms but have not yet been confirmed by laboratory testing to be virus carriers. Prior to today, only the nationwide total of suspected cases has been reported daily. To date, only 1 person in Beijing has died as a consequence of the virus.
   
• (2/7 6.39pm) What Are Fitness Enthusiasts Doing These Days? It's hard to keep a cyclist used to the open road in quarantine. Here's what some bikers are doing to cope with Beijing on lockdown.
   
• (2/7 10.18am) Let the Witch Hunts Begin: A new mini-app lets you search for the infected compound nearest you. we're not entirely sure this is a good thing.
   
• (2/6 10.07pm) Permanent Vacation?: Many Beijing expats on CNY holiday overseas have found themselves unable to return now that dozens of airlines have canceled flights in and out of the city (some of our own staff among them). Our sister site beijingkids takes a look at this peculiar situation.
   
• (2/6 4.32pm) Three's a Crowd?: Yesterday we mentioned the city has put the kibosh on banquets, and today the Beijing News reported that some restaurants were told that any party of three or more would be a no-no. However, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Market Supervision later denied that to be the case, though once again failed to give further clarity on actual numbers. They did, however, suggest that "in theory" diners should be at least one meter apart...
   
• (2/6 2.12pm) Bored? Stock Up on Hobbyist Delights on Taobao:  At this point in the coronavirus saga, you may be growing weary of your Netflix “hobby,” and yet still unsure if you’ll be able to stay committed to your dream of homebrewing once things settle back into normalcy. What you need now is something relatively simple to keep yourself distracted from apocalyptic fears. Surprisingly, aside from being out of masks and hand sanitizers, most Taobao merchants seem to have pretty much everything. Find out how to stock up here.
   
• (2/6 8.05am) Snow Leads to Busline, Road Closures: The snow that has been falling fairly consistently overnight and much of yesterday across Beijing is adding a new wrinkle to an already complex situation. The Beijing News reports this morning that several bus lines have suspended or reduced operations and several roads will be closed temporarily until the snow can be cleared. Look out for the crazies to begin screaming "they're locking us down!!!" without considering: staying off the slippery roads at this point is a very wise idea. All the hospitals who are focusing their efforts on epidemic control (and many of whom have sent staff to assist with front line treatment in Hubei) need right now are a bunch of traffic accidents. Beijing has become accustomed to very little snow in recent years. The full list of suspended bus service is available in Chinese here while road closures are listed in Chinese here.
   
• (2/5 9.16pm) Banquets & Other Big Mealtime Gatherings Banned: Beijing has made it clear to the city’s restaurants that large dinners are not permitted until further notice, though they failed to specify how many diners constitutes a large gathering.
   
• (2/5 3.02pm) Can We Get a Shout-Out?: Not for us, but for the people who are now keeping us safe and sane. The security guard in front of your apartment. The delivery guy. Your DiDi driver. The shopkeepers, servers, and chefs that are keeping your favorite stores open. Do us a solid and next time you see one of these people, give them hearty "THANK YOU" (say it with me people, Xie Xie). WTF would you be doing now without these people?
   
• (2/5 2.54pm) Wondering Who Still Delivers?: Actually from what we've heard, a good chunk of Beijing's finest restaurants are still delivering, even if they've shut their dining rooms temporarily. Local favorite Annie's is an example – you'll find them not on Meituan and other delivery apps, but direct via their WeChat account. Also, some restaurants that previously had not done much delivery are upping their game – Hulu being one. Read about Hulu's new delivery menu on our sister site beijingkids here.
   
• (2/5 9.11am) What Does One of Beijing's Biggest Infectious Disease Hospitals Look Like Right Now?: We popped by yesterday to see what was going on over there.
   
• (2/4 8.12pm) A Statistical Snapshot of Beiiing’s 228 Patients: The Beijing city government released a statistical snapshot this afternoon of those who have been diagnosed with the virus. Aged 60 and over, 25.9 percent; aged 18 to 59, 67.5 percent; and 17 and under, 6.6 percent. A slight preponderance (50.9 percent) is female, odd given that other sources we’ve been reading said that men might be more likely to contract the disease. The age range of the patients so far in Beijing is 9 months old to 89 years old (no average age was given). Of the 228, only nine are in critical condition, and 23 have recovered and been released from care.
   
• (2/4 5.15pm) Updated Beijing Airline Cancellations: We're doing our best to track all airline cancellations on this blog. Please be advised that this is a rapidly evolving situation that is changing by the hour and you should call your airline directly to determine its plans.
   
• (2/4 10.34am) Data on Three Recoveries in Beijing: We're still searching for specifics on the complete list of recovered patients in Beijing, in the meantime, People's Daily has sent some data of the three patients that were discharged yesterday: They ranged in age from 38 to 68, and their average hospital stay was 9.3 days. As there is no magic bullet to kill the virus, that means all of the recovered made it back to health via their own immune systems. One more reason not to panic. So far in Beijing, recoveries (12) are outpacing deaths (1) by a considerable margin (according to our go-to source Dr. Lilac). A total of 212 people in Beijing have tested positive for the virus.
   
• (2/3 8.29pm) 16 China Expats Infected: In today’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs press briefing, Spokesperson Hua Chunying told reporters “as of Fe 2, 16 foreigners in China have been infected with the 2019 n-CoV. Among them, two have recovered and been discharged from hospital, and 14 are in quarantine and in stable conditions.” There was no mention of what Chinese city these foreigners call home.
   
• (2/3 8.21pm) Sorry for Today’s Lack of Updates: The firehose of information continues, and given today was our parent company True Run Media’s first day back at work, we spent most of the strategizing the way forward. Thus, not much time for daily updates. I trust all of you are finding news you can use. This is as good at a time as any for us to explain our strategy going forward: we are not trying to be your source for all things coronavirus. We are focusing on cutting through the clutter and giving you only a selection of things we think will keep you safe, sane and entertained in Beijing. We’re staying away from alarmist clickbait that serves no purpose other than to heighten your anxiety, and neither are we going to make outrageous claims of being “live” or “up to the minute.” We’ll let the major media take care of the major stuff, and let the bottom-feeders (you know who they are) take care of whipping you into a frenzy. We’ll attempt to navigate a path that is honest, personal and real. Tell us how we’re doing in the comments below.
   
• (2/3 7.53pm) How the Heck Do You Say Coronavirus in Chinese? Our Mandarin Monday column gets you all verbal on this virus. 
   
• (2/2 9.50pm) Ditan Hospital Quiet: a circumnavigation of the perimeter of Ditan Hospital, one of the top 3 designated hospitals in Beijing to treat the Wuhan coronavirus (and only 1 of 20 capable of handling cases citywide) shows that all is quiet on the front lines in Beijing – no crowds, no lines, no traffic, no screaming ambulances. The facility, in northeast Chaoyang just off Jingmi Road near the French School and WAB, specializes in infectious diseases and was one of the main treatment facilities for patients during SARS in 2003.
   
• (2/2 2.45pm) Should You Stay or Should You Go? What with all the continued cancellations of flights out and certain countries quarantining or temporarily halting entry to those coming from China, some Beijing expats are signaling that they're "gettin' out while the gettin's good." You know our opinion on the matter (reminder: pls form your own), but here's a profile of one family that's staying put from our sister site beijingkids.
   
• (2/2 2.19pm) What's the Death Rate? Is the Wuhan Coronavirus killing 2.1 percent or 47.8 percent? We take a stab at figuring it out here.
   
• (2/1 12.35pm) Beijing Braces for Returnees: China’s New Year holiday ends this weekend and with it will come a massive influx of returnees to Beijing, a large chunk of them by train. To prepare for this Beijing is screening the temperatures of every incoming rail passenger, The Beijing News reports. Those with temperatures above 37.3 celsius will not be permitted to enter the station and arrangements have been made for ambulances to access the station platform to take passengers directly to the hospital if they have a fever.  Between Jan 24 and Jan 30, four individuals with a fever were detected and sent directly to the hospital. 
   
• (2/1 9.21am) WHO You Gonna Trust on Masks? Much anxiousness has been spent by Beijingers on acquiring masks to protect ourselves from the virus. Here is the World Health Organization's advice on it (and those dudes know their shit better than your average panicked expat or mask seller) and we quote *directly* from the WHO: (1) "For Individuals without respiratory symptoms: a medical mask is not required, as no evidence is available on its usefulness to protect non-sick persons." (2) "Wearing medical masks when not indicated may cause unnecessary cost, procurement burden and create a false sense of security that can lead to neglecting other essential measures such as hand hygiene practices." Read it yourself here and stop freaking out about masks. 
   
• (1/31 9.44pm) Work From Home Until Feb 10: Beijing employees and employers alike are scrambling to read between the lines of the Beijing city government's announcement earlier this evening about the resumption of work. The document states that all industries not essential to the basic functions of the city nor to efforts to control the virus outbreak should not resume in-office work until Feb 10. This much we know: this is *not* a formal extension of the holiday. The directive says that companies should make work-from-home arrangements as needed for employees. However, the wording of it lacks any legally binding "teeth" so to speak, in that it does not say in-office work is illegal or subject to penalty, and even goes on to list conditions under which companies that have "must-do" in-office projects can arrange to do so. Foreign and local employees who have inquired with their respective HR departments this evening are getting conflicting reports as to exactly what this means for the coming week of work.
   
• (1/31 7.52pm) Illegal to Bar Re-Entry of People Returning to Beijing: Images of signs posted outside Beijing's myriad gated housing complexes imply that some intend to deny re-entry to all residents returning from the outside the city as the CNY holiday ends, and they must not come in for 14 days. According to the Beijing Municipal Civil Affairs Bureau, this is not allowed. If you do not have symptoms, you should be allowed to return to your apartment, but you must don a mask and submit to a temperature check before entering. Those facing trouble re-entering their compounds are encouraged to call 12345 or contact the local neighborhood committee. 
   
• (1/31 1.24pm) Stay Put, Beijing. It's Your Safest Option. Should you stay or should you go? Here's why you should stay (and do your best to self-quarantine for 14 days). Spoiler alert: this article will tell you how you personally can best stop the spread of this outbreak.
   
• (1/31 3.11am) But What About My Baby? You’re 8 months pregnant, and instead of blissfully planning the arrival of your new baby, you’re desperately wondering how to keep yourself and your soon-to-be newborn safe amidst the coronavirus scare that’s looming over Beijing. Our sister site beijingkids talks to a doctor about what you should do. 
   
• (1/31 2.45am) Supermarkets Still Stocked: Mild concern crossed the minds of many a Beijinger Thursday: could the markets be running out of food? In a word: no. Plenty have been running low on fresh veggies over the last day or two (as they tend to do at the tail end of CNY), but many of these same markets have now been restocked. Multiple users in the Safe & Sane in Beijing WeChat groups displayed pictures of fully stocked shevles in multiple markets in multiple locations. Where there has been stock depletion it has been in large jugs of drinking water and non-food items like masks and hand sanitizer.
   
• (1/30 3.37pm) More Airlines Cancel Flights to/from Beijing: Lufthansa and Air Canada have decided to restrict flights in and out of Beijing and other parts of China. At this point the situation is changing so rapidly that there is no way to keep up with cancellation lists. Anyone claiming to have "live" or "latest" lists are probably the ones that you should suspect the most, because frankly as soon as one thing is posted, it's out of date. Here's what you should do: assume that your flight is or will be soon canceled and act accordingly. Call your airline or try a flight booking engine such as Kayak for the latest details. Don't rely on us or any other expat rag or WeChat account if they claim to have it all. It's simply not possible.
   
• (1/30 12.05am) Xiaotangshan Rises: Xiaotangshan Hospital, originally built to treat quarantined SARS patients in 2003, is coming back to life, according to CGTN. Mothballed for years, the massive 1,000-bed purpose-built facililty just outside the North 5th Ring is now buzzing with hundreds of workers aiming to have it back on line as soon as possible. CGTN has a great on-the-scene video of it here.
   
• (1/29 8.22pm) DiDi's Service Within Beijing NOT Suspended: Due to a temporary blip as well as misinterpretations by native English speakers who need to refresh their memories on the difference between "intra" and "inter", rumors have been flying for the past two days that DiDi has suspended all service in Beijing. From Jan 26 DiDi's English app has been showing all users a message indicating that inter-city (read: from one city to another) service has been suspended. This is in fact true – however, many people misread the message, thinking that intra-city (read: from one point in Beijing to another) had been suspended. That is false. Adding fuel to the fire, many users today were greeted with a clickable message at the base of the booking screen that reads "Service suspended in your area by requirements of local authorities" – and assuming, logically, that this meant that service has been suspended in their area. However, when actually clicking on the message, users were directed to a message about DiDi's suspending service in Maanshan in Anhui province. The error has now been corrected. To recap: DiDi still works normally to take rides from one point in Beijing to another, but you cannot take a DiDi from Beijing to another city such as Tianjin.
   
• (1/29 6.52pm) Playing Hooky: What do teens in Beijing's International Schools think about school being suspended indefinitely, with lessons to be delivered over the internet? Our sister site beijingkids asks students from three international schools here.
   
• (1/29 4.36pm) Sherpa's Suspends Delivery: Popular bilingual food delivery service Sherpa's suspended business for now, according to an announcenent on their WeChat account. While that's a loss for non-Chinese speakers, there are still a lot of choices for delivery if you read some Chinese and are willing to make a little effort. Our sister site beijingkids has a step-by-step guide on how to use the Chinese food delivery app Eleme.
   
• (1/29 3.33pm) British Airways Suspends Direct Flights to and from Beijing and Shanghai: British Airways became the latest airline to stop flights to Beijing and Shanghai, according to CNN though different sources are reporting different dates of resumption of service. "BA flies direct from London Heathrow to Beijing and Shanghai, according to the company's website. Those flights were unavailable to book online through February 29," CNN reports. However, at least one user who called BA's office in Beijing China itself to date has not made any declarations of international airline restrictions to and from Beijing, however some nations and airlines are making these decisions on their own. Travel options from Beijing are dwindling, but this is by and large a good thing, as travel is one likely source of transmission of the virus.
   
• (1/29 12.58pm) Beijing Film Academy Quarantined: A foreign student at the Beijing Film Academy tells us that the campus has been quarantined. This is not because an infection has been reported there, but as a safety precaution. Students have access to the cafeteria and must sign out of their dorms to go elsewhere on campus. Students and staff who are not on campus now have been told to not return for the time being. Those inside are allowed to leave if they have a legitimate reason to do so approved by personnel at the gate. Deliveries are being accepted at the gate. This is similar to reports we are hearing from some other gated areas of Beijing, such as housing complexes. This is actually a good thing, as self-quarantine is currenly the best way to break the chain of transmission.
   
• (1/29 11.55am) The Most Sane Article We've Read So Far: This opinion piece from the New York Times is ABSOLUTELY required reading for worried Beijingers, and it comes from perhaps the MOST CREDIBLE source possible for our audience: an expat mom who lived through SARS in Beijing who happens to be both a professional journalist and physician. Go buy a digital subscription to the NYT right now, if only to calm yourself down with this one article, and to reward Ms Rosenthal's INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT and rational piece. And when you are done, print it out, post in on your wall, and re-read it five times a day.
   
• (1/29 7.19am) Some Air, Train Routes To/From Beijing suspended: The vast majority of flights and trains in and out of Beijing are still operating normally, but three news pieces indicate options are dwindling as China and the world try to slow the spread of the virus:
  • United Airlines has cited “a significant decline in demand” as the reason they are suspending 24 routes to and from China from Feb 1 to Feb 8, with the Beijing routes affected being Beijing (PEK) to Washington Dulles, Chicago O'Hare and Newark, according to CNN
  • China’s rail network has suspended 39 lines until Feb 26, The China Daily reports. This includes routes to and from Beijing as well as some passing through the city. The full list (in Chinese) is here.
  • Hong Kong has stopped all train and ferry connections to the mainland and cut flight routes in half, the BBC reports.
     
• (1/29 6.38am) School’s Out Until Further Notice: Beijing’s education ministry has told the city’s school systems to remain shut until further notice, with no forecasted date of reopening. Our sister publication beijingkids has everything we know so far.
   
• (1/28 11.10pm) Best News We've Heard All Day: It's been a long day of rumor, speculation, fear, happiness, exhaustion, closures, confusion and frenzy here at TBJ's Coronavirus HQ and gotta admit, we spent a good portion of the day struggling over which of 10,000 bits of news (all of which seem so essential) to post here. But as the day draws to a close and energy levels drizzle to zero, here is the one glimmer of hope that is making us sleep peacefully tonight: Two additional patients diagnosed with the virus in Beijing have been cleared and released from the hospital, raising the total number of recoveries to 4. That might sound insignificant, but that means nearly 5 percent of all infections reported so far have already been cleared. AND that figure of 4 happens to be four times the number of those that have died (1) in Beijing. Maybe the best part of all? The patients released today, both female (no ages were given), entered the hospital on Jan 20 and 21st, respectively – meaning they were in and out in less than 8 days.
   
• (1/28 5.51pm) Been to Hubei Recently? Self-quarantine The Beijing city government requests citizens who have recently been to Hubei or come in contact with people from Hubei should self-quaratine for two weeks, the Beijing News reported yesterday. As a general rule, all citizens should cooperate with temperature measurements in public transportation nodes and facilities, wear a mask in public and keep a close watch on their own health day to day, seeking medical help immediately if symptoms occur.
   
• (1/28 3.11pm) A Note on Numbers Watching: Like you, we've been watching these infection numbers “in real time” with morbid curiosity. And it has us thinking that perhaps we're doing this all wrong. Diatribe/confession here.
   
• (1/28 11.51am) Isolated Reports Trickling in of Communities Limiting Access, Taking Temperatures: Several expatriate and local residents have shared that some of their communities are beginning to limit access to outsiders and setting up temperature checks for residents. In the Longze area of Haidian one person said that some housing complexes are not allowing non-resident cars to ender, and that the community is asking everyone to report their temperature once a day to the local community center. Residents who leave the compound are being asked to sign in and out and report their destinations when returning. In the northeast community of Hegezhuang, near the Harrow School and a popular residential area for expatriate teachers, one resident said that two of the three entrances to the village have been blocked off and residents need to show ID to enter and non-residents are not allowed in. Temperature checks have been reported to have been set up in Shuangijing and Dongcheng as well.
   
• (1/28 1.36am) School Staff, Students to Wear Masks: Li Yi, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Education Commission, announced yesterday that teachers and students at all levels of school – from universities down to preschools – will be required to wear masks when school resumes (at a date that has yet to be determined). Schools also will be required to set up temperature stations to monitor all people entering the school facilities. Prior to the resumption of classes, schools will need to have an emergency plan in place to deal with students if they develop a fever while on campus. Schools will also be asked to examine the health data of students on a case-by-case basis for the two weeks prior to school start to assess possible impact on the resumption of classes. Catering staff, cleaning staff and security staff must be free and clear of the disease prior to starting work and be monitored in a "closed-end management" (封闭式管理) style before school resumes.
   
• (1/27 11.57pm) First Beijing Death Reported: A 50-year-old Beijing male who had visited Wuhan earlier this month became the first local victim of the outbreak, according to CCTV News. The man, who visited Wuhan from Jan 8 to Jan 15, went to the hospital on Jan 21 and was formally diagnosed on Jan 22. CCTV said his condition worsened and died of respriatory failure today.
   
• (1/27 8.39pm) Beijing Subway Expands Temp Checks, Masks Strongly Suggested: The Beijing Subway has expanded temperature checks to all stations in its massive network, one of the world's largest, three days after rolling it out across 35 of the stations. According to the Beijing Evening News, four separate people attempting to enter the station today were found to have a fever and were sent for testing. The network is now strongly suggesting all riders wear masks before entering stations.
   
• (1/27 8.39pm) Grand Summit Mall, Office Closed: Both sections of the popular Grand Summit mall and office buidling at Liangmaqiao, home to a bevy of popular eateries such as Fatburger, Baker and Spice, and Obentos, closed today and posted a sign outside saying a return to business would be announced at a later date.One expat resident with contacts with the building management was told unoficially that Feb 3 was the tenative re-opening date.
   
• (1/27 5.50pm) No Crowds on Chaoyang Hospital Fever Clinic Walkby: In the interest of dispelling rumors about fever clinics in Beijing being overwhelmed, we walked by one, at Chaoyang Hospital, a centrally located and busy hospital just south of Sanlitun, this morning at 10am. The hospital's fever clinic is clearly marked and prepared for crowds, but peeking in from a distance revealed only a handful of people waiting to be checked.
   
• (1/27 3.20pm) Beijing Eldercare Facilities Quarantined: All Beijing eldercare facilities are being quarantined starting today, according to the China Daily. Residents at the facilities are no longer allowed outside, nor are they allowed to receive any visitors. Facilities are also no longer admitting new residents at this time.
   
• (1/27 3.20pm) 9-month-old Beijing Baby Infected: The People's Daily reports that a 9-month-old baby girl was tested positive for the Wuhan Coronavirus yesterday. In a chart supplied by officials reporting yesterday's new infections, she is listed to have come into contact with someone from Hubei, and became sick on the 25th. The chart also lists a 37-year-old female that was diagnosed on the same day, which we assume is the baby’s mother.
   
• (1/27 3pm) Beijing United Fever Clinic Closed for Upgrades: One of Beijing's most popular hospitals amongst expats, Beijing United, has closed their Fever Clinic for "upgrades", according this post from their WeChat account. Other emergency services at the hospital are not affected. No reason was given for the closure and no date for a potential reopening was listed. There are 100 other hospitals in Beijing with Fever Clinics, if you have a fever you must go to one of them. A full list (in Chinese) is here. If you use Baidu Maps, an easy way to find the nearest one to your current location is to do a search in Chinese for 发热门诊 (Fever Clinic). PS this currently is not applicable in DiDi's search function (a search using DiDi did not result in complete results).
   
• (1/27 2.17pm) CBD/Sanlitun Walkaround: A walk through downtown Beijing this morning dispelled a few myths and showed that (a) the streets were not deserted – many people were out and about, most wearing masks, (b) the markets are not short of food or water – a visit to Market Place in Taikoo Li, Wal-Mart in Chaoyangmen and a few convenience stores along the way showed the shelves stocked normally, though vegetable supplies were a little picked through (normal for the middle of Chinese New Year).
   
• (1/27 6.40am) Chinese New Year Holiday Officially Extended: The State Council yesterday extended the official dates of the Spring Festival holiday by a miserly two days, to Sunday, Feb 2. The holiday was originally scheduled to conclude Thursday, Jan 30 and everone was due back at work for Friday, Jan 31 and one of those stupid “makeup” weekend work days on Saturday, Feb 1.
   
• (1/27 6.17am) Chinese Tour Groups Suspended: In a move likely to hit Beijing's hotel industry hard, China suspended all inbound and outbound tour groups nationwide as of Saturday. Tours already underway will be allowed to complete the journeys they are already on. Forbes has a story on its likely impact here. Note: Individual travelers are not impacted by this move, just organized group tours. In related news, Beijing's somewhat infamous "7-star Hotel" Pangu Plaza, located on the Olympic Green, has taken the unusual move of completely shutting down until further notice. Pangu becomes the first hotel in Beijing we've heard of to completely close up shop during this outbreak.
   
• (1/26, 11.32pm) Haidilao Closes Nationwide: Haidilao, everyone’s favorite hotpot chain with hundreds of locations throughout the country, has taken the unprecedented step of shutting its entire network of mainland restaurants down effective today through Jan 31. In the small print of the announcement they mention that stores will re-open “according to local prevention and control progress and relevant national regulations, based on local conditions, to be determined at a later date”.
   
• (1/26, 8.12pm) Nanshan Ski Resort Closes Jan 28: The popular Nanshan Ski Resort in Miyun has decided to close up shop on Jan 28 in the wake of uncertainty over the virus outbreak. If you are planning any outdoor activities, it pays to call ahead to double-check if where you're headed is still open.
   
• (1/26, 5.41pm) School's Out: The Beijing Municipal Commission of Education this afternoon announced that all schools in Beijing from kindergarten to colleges will indefinitely delay reopening after the Chinese New Year break to prevent the spread of the virus. Very scant details were provided in the news release except that a proposed date of reopening was to be determined by the outbreak situation. Public schools were due to resume post-CNY on Feb 17, so it's likely the delay will last longer than that. No details yet on how pirvate international schools will be affected by this directive. We'll be following it closely on our sister site beijingkids.
   
• (1/26, 2.47pm) Slow Boat Staying the Course: Slow Boat Brewery is taking great measures to stay open during this tough time, and going the extra mile to make sure they offer a safe dining evironment for their guests – including publicly posting the results of employee health checks, mandatory masks, and providing diners with hand sanitizer. You can read about everything they're doing here. Other restaurants we can confirm are still open are QMex and El Barrio in Sanlitun, amongst others. Here is our list of the CNY schedule of many of Beijing's bars and restaurants, but we suggest you call ahead as the situation is evolving by the day.
   
• (1/26, 11.21am) Capital Outlets Mall Closed: In the first instance we've heard of a mall being closed due to the outbreak, The Beijing News reports that Fangshan's Capital Outlets mall has decided to close its doors until further notice. As of yesterday, popular Chaoyang area malls Indigo and Solana were still open.
   
• (1/26, 11.16am) Popular Outdoor Skating Arena at Houhai Closed: In a sign that it's not just indoor facilities that are being closed, the outdoor skating area at Shichahai, a Beijing winter tradition that stretches back more than a century, has closed indefinitely as of Jan 24.
   
• (1/26, 8.40am) Beijing Boyce on F&B Updates: If you’re a barfly or foodie, Beijing Boyce has been a very reliable source of downtown Beijing F&B news for well over a decade. If places are open or closed (particularly in the Sanlitun area), he’s likely to have it first. Here's his entertaining and informative CNY (Coronavirus New Year) page, which he is updating regularly.
   
• (1/26, 7.38am) DiDi Suspends Inter-City Rides:  Users opening their DiDi ride hailing app this morning were greeted with a message that says all inter-city car-hailing has been suspended until further notice, as of midnight last night. To clarify: inter-city means from one city to another city – in other words, if you want to take a DiDi to Tianjin, you're out of luck. Normal ride hailing within city limits is not affected. Additionally, DiDi is pledging to require all drivers to wear masks, and encouraging riders to report those that are not via the post-ride evaluation.
   
• (1/26, 4.21am) Beijing Infections Reach 51: The Beijing News reports: as of 5.23pm yesterday, the total number of cases in Beijing has reached 51 (49 in treatment, 2 recovered), from the following districts: Haidian 10, Chaoyang 8, Changping 5, Xicheng 5, Tongzhou 4, Fengtai 3, Daxing 2, Dongcheng 1, Shijingshan 1, Shunyi 1. An additional 11 visitors from outside Beijing are being treated here.
   
• (1/26, 4.11am) Three Beijing Doctors Infected: Responding to rumors that medical professionals were being infected, the Beijing Municipal Health Commission acknowledged that three doctors in Beijing have contracted the virus and released specific details about each. Two, surnamed Wang and Lu, were diagnosed after business trips to Wuhan, while a third, surnamed Yan, contracted it after a period of recreational travel in the northeast and attending a conference where he sat directly next to Lu. All three are being quarantined at designated hospitals and are in stable condition.
   
• (1/25, 11.01pm) Isolated Reports of Villages Barricading Themselves: In a repeat of what happened during SARS in 2003, some local villages outside Beijing have begun taking it upon themselves to impose a sort of self-quarantine. Changping's Xianrendong (仙人洞) Village, a popular spot for tourists famous for its vegetarian food, has closed all of its rental spaces, which normally attract over 100,000 each year. Meanwhile, an American visiting Chinese in-laws in the Hebei province village of Neiqiu (内丘) reports that the village he is staying in has declared that no one is to come in or out for 14 days.
   
• (1/25, 8.43pm) Beijing Suspends Long-Distance Bus Traffic: Beijing will suspend all long-distance bus service effective tomorrow (Sunday) morning. City buses will run normally and roads in and out of Beijing remain open for all other traffic. Trains and air traffic are not affected by this directive. Again: Beijing is NOT being barricaded, only long-distance (interprovincial) bus suspended. No date of resumption of service has been indicated.
  .
• (1/25, 5.09pm) Beijing Subway Starts Temperature Checks: Don't take the subway if you've got a fever. 35 stations on the Beijing Subway network have started temperature checks on inbound passengers as of yesterday, The Beijing News reports. Passengers with fevers will not be allowed into the station and subway staff have been instructed to report the incident and call an abulance to transport the person to a nearby hospital with a fever clinic. A full list of stations where temperature checks have  been set up:  Fuxingmen, Xidan, Tiananmen West, Tiananmen East, Wangfujing, Dongdan, Jianguomen, Qianmen, Beijing West Railway Station, Beijing Railway Station, Qinghe, Xizhimen, T2 and T3 on the airport express, Liulitun, Sihui, Songjiazhuang, Dongzhimen, Dawang Lu, Wukesong, Guomao, Jishuitan, Fuchengmen, Tiantongyuan North, Tiantongyuan, Qingnian Lu, Dongdaqiao, Chaoyangmen, Sanyuanqiao, Liangmaqiao, Suzhou Jie, Tuanjiehu, Wukesong, Huoying, Xierqi.
   
• (1/25, 4.15pm) Rumor Busted: Beijing NOT Being Sprayed by Planes: A cockamamie rumor spread via (you guessed it) WeChat saying that all citizens of Beijing should run inside at 4pm today because planes were going to spray has turned out to be baloney. So far similar rumors have been busted in Zhengzhou, Wuhan and Xi'an.
   
• (1/25, 4.02pm) Rumor Busted: Roads In and Out of Beijing NOT shut: Rumors were flying this afternoon that highways in and out of Beijing were being blocked off and motorists were being denied entry/exit. The rumors are utter hogwash at this point, with The Beijing News talking directly to traffic officials who said: its a rumor.
   
• (1/25, 12.42pm) Many Malls, Parks Still Open: A walkabout this morning in Beijing saw the Indigo and Solana malls open as usual, as well as Chaoyang Park and Lido's Side Park. If you're looking to get out of the house, a public park is a good bet – check out our Park Life series for deets on some of the city's more interesting destinations. 
   
• (1/25, 8.29am) Inbound Temperature Checks for All Airport Arrivals: Civil aviation authorities are now checking the body temperature of all incoming passengers at all of Beijing's airports, The Beijing News reports. 
   
• (1/25, 8am) Many Events, Attractions Canceled: Some advice: if you are planning to go anywhere in Beijing during the holiday, please be aware that most large-scale events that normally attract crowds are CLOSED. Also, some open-air places you might not expect to be closed are in fact closing. If it has an entrance ticket or a gate around it, expect it to be closed. If you are indeed going out, it pays to double check before you do. And if you do go out (and find something unexpectedly open or closed), please share that information in the comments below or send to WeChat: mwinchina
   
• (1/24, 5.59pm) CCTV New Year Gala Adds Big Coronavirus Number: CCTV's annual Chinese New Year's Eve variety show that starts at 8pm tonight as added a special last-minute segment themed around the Wuhan Coronavirus outbreak, an unusual move for the heavily rehearsed and scripted show. The performance is called "Love is a Bridge" (爱是桥梁). Look for it tonight as you feast on dumplings.
   
• (1/24 4.36pm) Designated Beijing Hospitals: The Beijing Municipal Health Committee has officially designated three Beijing hospitals as disease control centers for the Wuhan Coronavirus. All patients with confirmed infections with the virus will be quarantined and treated at one of these hospitals: 
  • Beijing Ditan Hospital (北京地坛医院), located outside the northeast 5th Ring Road in the Laiguangying area
  • Beijing Youan Hospital (北京佑安医院) in Fengtai District between 2nd and 3rd Ring Roads
  • The Fifth Medical Center of PLA General Hospital (解放军总医院第五医学中心) in Fengtai District between 3rd and 4th Ring Roads.
     
• (1/24 3.41pm) Religious Services Suspended: Beijing's Muslim and Catholic communities have both announced that services will be suspended until further notice.
   
• (1/24 3.37pm) Happy Valley Amusement Park Closes: Beijing's largest amusement  park, Happy Valley, has closed until further notice. Shanghai's Happy Valley as well as Shanghai Disneyland have also announced they will be closing until futher notice.
   
• (1/24 2.32pm) Beijing Reports First Recovery from Infection: The People's Daily reports that one confirmed patient with the Wuhan Coronavirus in Beijing has fully recovered and been released from the hospital. This is the first recorded recovery from the virus in Beijing. The patient is a female resident of Daxing and was released today from the Ditan Hospital in Laiguangying where many infected patients are being quarantined. Her age was not reported.
   
• (1/24 1.42pm) Beijing Hotel Occupancy Rates Plummet: Beijing's hotel business is struggling with a response to the crisis. One well-placed insider from a downtown 5-star said occupancy rates – usually close to capacity at Chinese New Year – have quickly dropped to 20 percent. What's worse they have guests from Wuhan, and the owner of their building has asked the hotel to ask the guests to leave (which the guests refuse to comply with). The hotel has currently moved all Wuhan guests to one floor of the hotel.
   
• (1/24 1.16pm) Thinking of Going to a Movie? Think Again: Not only have almost every major release been pulled from theaters for the CNY holiday, several chains have announced they are shutting down entirely through Jan 27, with further announcements about a return to business coming later, based on conditions. Amongst the closures are the popular Lumiere (卢米埃), CGV, and Bona (博纳) cinema chains.
   
• (1/24 11.57am) Caffeine Fiends, Alert: Starbucks China has announced that all stores nationwide will be disinfecting every two hours and they will be closing all Wuhan stores effective immediately for thorough disinfecting, The Beijing News reports. They aim to begin reopening Wuhan stores as soon as possible.
   
• (1/24 10.36am) Portions of the Great Wall Closed: Going outside for some fresh air is not a bad thing to do during this holiday season, but be careful if your intended destination is a ticketed portion of the Great Wall or outdoor park, as some of them are closing too. The Juyongguan section of the Great Wall and the Ming Tombs announced today they will be closing indefinitely to prevent the spread of the virus.
   
• (1/24 8.46am) Basically Everything is Cancelled: This morning brings a flurry of additional closure announcements from popular tourist attractions and public performance spaces. The Confucius Temple and Lama Temple are both closing, and The Beijing News reports that virtually all scheduled performance at places such as Poly Plaza Theater, the Beijing Concert Hall, Mei Lanfang Grand Theater, and the National Peking Opera Theater. Rule of thumb: if you’re planning to visit any ticketed public spaces or performance halls this Chinese New Year, call ahead to see if it has been closed/canceled. 
   
• (1/24 12.55am) First death outside of Wuhan: The 18th victim of the Wuhan Coronavirus — and the first outside of Wuhan — passed away yesterday in Hebei Province. The 80-year-old male from Cangzhou, about 200km south of Beijing, had just returned from visiting relatives in Wuhan.
   
• (1/24 12.36am) International School Chain Delays Reopening: Beijing’s Yew Chung International School, part of a network of international schools in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and other cities in China, announced late Thursday night that they would delay the post-CNY return to all of their network schools from Feb 3 to Feb 17. They have asked all students, teachers and administrators to return as normal as if school was to start on Feb 3, to “ensure an adequate quarantine period at home before school starts.” Class assignments will be delivered digitally during the break and a full disinfection of school premises will be made before the resumption of school.
   
• (1/23, 11.32pm) Forbidden City Closing: The National Palace Museum announced this evening that they will be closing Saturday Jan 25 as a measure to control the potential spread of the virus and will remain closed until further notice. Prince Gong's Mansion, another popular tourist spot, also announced they are closing immediately until further notice. Other city attractions that have announced closure include the National Art Museum, National Library, Zhokoudian, the Birds Nest and the Beijing Observatory.
   
• (1/23 5.59pm) District-by-District Breakdown of Beijing Infections: The Beijng News has a district-by-district breakdown of the 22 infections so far in Beijing: Xicheng (3); Chaoyang (2); Haidian (3); Fengtai (1); Shijingshan (1); Tongzhou (2); Daxing (2); Changping (2); visitors from Wuhan (6).
   
• (1/23 5.40pm) Temple Fairs Cancelled: Temple fairs are part of Chinese New Year tradition, but the Wuhan coronavirus is messing with that. The ones we were able to reach directly Thursday afternoon all said that they are officially cancelling this year's fairs. This includes fairs at Ditan Park, Longtanhu Park, Daguanyuan and Dongyue Temple. If you plan to go to any of the other fairs, please take precautions: we'd suggest masks and hand sanitizer at the very minimum.
   
• (1/23 5.40pm) Beijing Subway Disinfected Hourly: The Beijing Subway running normally and is disinfecting every station on an hourly basis.
   
• (1/23 12.13pm) Fatalities Mostly Elderly, No Children: The People's Daily released details of all 17 fatalities so far: three female (48, 70, and 82 years old) and 14 male (53, 61, 65, 66, 66, 69, 75, 80, 81, 82, 84, 86, 89, and 89). The youngest victim was 48 and the average age of all is 73.
   
• (1/23 11.30am) Beijing Airports Running Smoothly: Messages circulating yesterday suggested those departing via Beijing’s airports plan to arrive 4 hours prior to departure, because of increased health checks. However, several expat travelers at the airports yesterday and today say they have not had any abnormal delays. With the situation evolving by the hour and today being the last official day of work before the CNY holiday, we suggest those traveling by air play it safe and give yourself some extra time just in case.
   
• (1/23 8.43am) Civets, Bats Off The Hook? This Live Science article says some gene-sequencing scientists are now leaning towards snakes as the origin of the Wuhan Coronavirus.
   
• (1/23 3.15am) Wuhan Shuts Down Public Transport:  Wuhan announced late Wednesday that the entire public transport system in the city of 11 million would be shut down indefinitely as of 10am on Thursday. This includes buses, subway, and ferry service, while all airports and railway stations will be closed temporarily. No timetable of a return to service has been announced.
   
• (1/23 2.39am) So Far, Less Deadly:  Reported deaths almost doubled Wednesday night, going from 9 to 17, with all the deaths occurring in Wuhan. Despite this, the 3.1 percent mortality rate of this outbreak still appears to be considerably lower than 2003's SARS, which killed 9.6 percent of those that contracted it.
   
• (1/22 8.12pm) Only Fever Clinics Can See Patients with Fevers: Got a fever over 38  degrees C and having trouble breathing? This is when you should go to see a doctor... but you must go to a hospital that is equipped with fever clinic. Luckily there are 89 of them all over Beijing (including Beijing United, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, and Peking Union), and all but five are 24 hours. A full list in Chinese is available here.
   
• (1/22 7.58pm) Civet Cats to Blame Again? The AFP has a detailed post in English about the animals on offer at the Huanan Seafood Market, the alleged origin of the outbreak. Civet Cats are once again mentioned as possible culprits, which if it turns out to be true would be an embarrassing setback given that civets were pinned as the source of the SARS outbreak in 2003.
   
• (1/22 7.20pm) Beijing Hotels Affected: Several Beijing hoteliers are reporting that cancellations are way up, and no incoming bookings are taking their place. Read more about how the coronavirus stands to affect your Beijing stay here.
   
• (1/22 7.20pm) Caucasian Conspiracy: In an already deleted Weibo post, some crackpot suggested that since no Caucasians died of SARS (which is patently false) it can only mean that the virus is a conspiracy launched by white people to infect the Asian races.
   
• (1/22 3.30pm) Offices Sprayed: People in Beijing report that many offices have decided to take off a day early, letting staff leave or continue their work from home. The common areas of many office buildings have been sprayed with disinfectant, and companies have been handing out masks and hand sanitizers to their staff.
   
• (1/22 3.30pm) Beijing Subway Line 5 Rumor Quashed: A rumor circulating on Tuesday described how Line 5 was closed after a regular commuter was diagnosed with the virus,  turned out to be just that – a rumor. It turns out that while person in question – an intern at a gaming company – was indeed ill, he had been cleared of having the Wuhan coronavirus.
   
• (1/22 3.30pm) Now Boarding, Wuhan to Beijing: In what may turn out to be a bad omen for Beijing, flight data presented by this Chinese-language WeChat account shows that the #1 destination by far for passengers flying out of Wuhan, the presumed source of the virus, is Beijing. Nearly 60,000 inbound passengers are estimated to have landed between Dec 30 and Jan 20.
   
• (1/22 3.30pm) Bats, Man: China Daily reported on Tuesday that the virus may have originated from bats, though they also suggested there may be an "intermediary" species that lead to the virus infecting humans.
   
• (1/22 3.30pm) Lose Your Lunch: The suspected origin of the outbreak has been traced to the Wuhan Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, which despite its name, also allegedly dabbles in the meat camels, civets, kangaroo, and scorpion. This Chinese-language WeChat post has some harrowing photos reportedly from the market that will have you saying, "Well, now this all makes sense..."
   
• (1/22 3.30pm) CDC on the Case: The US-based Centers for Disease Control has this page set up to follow the virus, which currently lacks an easy-to-use nickname like SARS and is being referred to as “2019 novel coronavirus” or “2019-nCoV."

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Credits: This post was written, edited, compiled and designed by Alexandre Froger, Siyu He, Tobal Loyola, Mina Yan, Joey Guo, Echo Wang, Tracy Wang, Anna Pellegrin Hartley, Eloise Wester and Michael Wester