Detailed Rules for the Implementation of the Frontier Health and Quarantine Law of the People's Republic of China (2019 Amendment)

Detailed Rules for the Implementation of the Frontier Health and Quarantine Law of the People's Republic of China (2019 Amendment) Detailed Rules for the Implementation of the Frontier Health and Quarantine Law of the People's Republic of China (Approved by the State Council on February 10, 1989; promulgated by the Ministry of public Health as the Order No. 2 on March 6, 1989; revised for the first time according to the Decision of the State Council on Amending the Detailed Rules for the Implementation of the Frontier Health and Quarantine Law of People's Republic of China on April 24, 2010; revised for the second time in accordance with the Decision of the State Council on Amending Some Administrative Regulations on February 6, 2016; and amended in accordance with the Decision of the State Council to Amend Certain Administrative Regulations on March 2, 2019) CHAPTER I GENERAL PROVISIONS Article 1 These Implementation Rules are formulated in accordance with the Frontier Health and Quarantine Law of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as "the Frontier Health and Quarantine Law"). Article 2 For the purpose of the Frontier Health and Quarantine Law and these Implementation Rules, the definitions of the following terms are: "Inspection" means that the Frontier Health and Quarantine Organ (hereinafter referred to as the "Health and Quarantine Organ") conducts the medical and sanitary inspection. "Quarantinable Epidemic Victim" means a person who suffers from quarantinable infectious disease or a person who has been proved through primary diagnosis by the Health and Quarantine organ to have caught the quarantinable infectious disease or have become an incubation carrier. "Quarantinable Epidemic Suspect" means a person who has been exposed to the quarantinable epidemic environment and may transmit quarantinable infectious diseases. "Isolation" means that a person affected by a quarantinable epidemic disease is being detained in a designated place for medical treatment until there is no longer any risk of spreading the disease. "Check-up detention" means that a suspect carrier of a quarantinable epidemic disease is being detained in a designated place for diagnosis and check-up. "On-site clinical check-up" means that a person is required to go to the nearest health and quarantine organ or medical treatment unit for diagnosis and check-up within a specific period of time set by the health and quarantine organ or that the person is visited by people either from the health and quarantine organ or from the medical treatment unit for diagnosis and check-up. "Transportation facility" means cargo containers. "Sanitization" means both medical measures, including isolations, check-up detention and on-site clinical check-up; and "sanitary measures" including disinfection, deratization, and deinsectization. "To monitor epidemic diseases" means to carry out survey in a specific environment and among specific groups of people on matters relating to epidemiology, serology, etiology, and clinical symptoms;and to make prognostication of the incidence, development and spread of and epidemic disease. "Health supervision" means the sanitary inspection, identification,evaluation and sampling conducted in the implementation of the health law and hygienic standard. "Conveyance" means vessels, aircraft, trains and other motor vehicles. "Frontier ports" means international seaports, airports, railway or bus terminals on the border, and ports of entry at land frontiers and boundary rivers. Article 3 Duty range for health and quarantine organs on the frontier shall cover those hotels, restaurants and clubs on the frontier and those units that provide food or services for the incoming or outgoing conveyance and those places where quarantine inspection, sanitary monitoring and health supervision on the incoming or outgoing persons, conveyance, containers and goods are carried out. Article 4 All persons, conveyance and containers, as well as articles such as baggage, goods, postal parcels that may transmit quarantinable diseases are subject to quarantine inspection upon entering or exiting the country in accordance with these Rules, and entry and exit shall be allowed to them only after an approval is issued by the health and quarantine office. Article 5 When a quarantinable epidemic victim is discovered by the health and quarantine organ, measures must be taken promptly in accordance with the rules stipulated in Chapter VIII of these Rules to place him in isolation and prevent other persons from being infected. When a quarantinable epidemic suspect is found by the health and quarantine organ, he shall be dealt with in accordance with the rules stipulated in Chapter VIII. As for those suspects suffering from contagious diseases other than plague, cholera and yellow fever as defined in Chapter VIII of these Rules, they shall be subject to on-site clinical check-up or check-up detention as well as other measures of sanitization for a period of time not exceeding the longest incubation period of that contagious disease counting from the day they left the infected environment. Article 6 Health and quarantine organs are required to bar any quarantinable epidemic victims or suspects from exit, with the exception of those who come from abroad and have undergone on-site clinical check up on arrival. These persons can leave the port if they wish to; if they leave in conveyance, quarantine physicians are required to annotate and comment on their Exit Quarantine Certificates and to inform the person in charge of the conveyance to take the necessary precautionary measures. Article 7 When a death due to an unidentified cause other than accidental harm is discovered at a frontier port, the corpse shall be subject to quarantine inspection and only after an entry or exit permit is granted can the corpse be removed. Article 8 When a quarantinable infectious disease or a disease suspected to be quarantinable or a death due to an unidentified cause other than accidental harm is discovered on conveyance from a domestic pestilence area or in the course of a domestic voyage, the persons in charge of the conveyance are required to make a report to the health and quarantine organ on arrival at the frontier port and undergo preliminary quarantine inspection. Article 9 When quarantinable infectious diseases are prevailing at home or abroad, the administrative department of health under the State Council shall report the situation to the State Council for decisions on taking the following precautionary measures, partially or totally, in quarantine inspection: (1) Giving orders to blockade relevant sections of the border and frontier water course; (2) Giving orders that certain articles must be disinfected or treated with insecticides before they are allowed in or out of the country. (3) Giving orders to prohibit shipment, in or out, of certain articles. (4) Giving orders to designate the primary sea-ports and airports. Those vessels or aircraft from foreign pestilence areas, without going through quarantine inspection at the primary sea-port or airport, shall not be permitted to get into any other sea-port or airport, with the exception of cases of accidents or other special reasons. Article 10 Upon the arrival of containers, goods, or discarded used materials at the port ready for shipping in or out, the shipper, the carrier's agent or the consignor is required to report to the health and quarantine organ for inspection. Containers, goods, or used materials that come from pestilence area or have been contaminated by an epidemic disease or are likely to spread quarantinable epidemic diseases or are found to have carried rodents which affect human health and vectors are required to undergo disinfection, deratization, deinsectization and other necessary sanitization process. If the owner of the containers, goods or discarded used materials asks to go through quarantine inspection or sanitization in other places, the health and quarantine organ shall provide convenience and carry out the task in accordance with regulations. Article 11 The carrier, shipper or parcel sender of special articles which enter or leave China such as microorganisms, human tissues, biological products, and blood and its products shall declare to the health and quarantine authority and be subject to health and quarantine inspection, and undergo the customs clearance formalities based on the approval form for special articles issued by the health and quarantine authority. Such articles are not allowed to enter or leave China without the permission of the health and quarantine authority. Article 12 Luggage and other articles carried along by incoming or outgoing passengers or staff members or by means of registered shipment that may spread quarantinable epidemic diseases, are required to undergo hygienic examination. The health and quarantine organ shall exercise sanitization or destruction of the foods, drinks and aquatic products that come from the pestilence area or have been contaminated with epidemic diseases and issue a sanitization certificate. Article 13 When the health and quarantine organ conducts health examination and sanitization of the registered parcels, the postal unit is required to offer cooperation. Without permission by the health and quarantine organ, the postal unit may not ship the parcels. Article 14 The General Administration of Customs is the organ of authority for making the various kinds of health and quarantine forms, certificates as well as for their issuance. CHAPTER II REPORT OF EPIDEMIC SITUATION Article 15 On discovering at, or on a conveyance at a frontier port a quarantinable infectious disease, a disease suspected to be quarantinable or a death due to an unidentified cause other than accidental harm, the relevant department at the frontier port and the person in charge of the conveyance must report immediately to the health and quarantine office. Article 16 When the health and quarantine organ has discovered any quarantinable epidemic cases or monitored epidemic diseases or any disease suspected to be quarantinable, it must inform the local health administrative unit and the epidemic prevention unit. When a quarantinable disease is discovered, it must be promptly reported to the health administrative department under the State Council. On the other hand, if the local epidemic prevention unit has discovered any quarantinable epidemic cases or monitored epidemic diseases, it must keep the health and quarantine organ informed about the matter. Article 17 At the time when any quarantinable epidemic disease is prevalent in certain regions at home or abroad, the health administrative department under the State Council may declare the regions as pestilence areas. CHAPTER III HEALTH AND QUARANTINE ORGANS Article 18 The health and quarantine organ may set up its agent organ if necessary. The setting up, amalgamation or dissolution of any health and quarantine organ shall be governed by the relevant provisions. Article 19 The duties of the health and quarantine organ are as follows: (1) Enforce "The Frontier Health and Quarantine Law" and the rules for implementation of this law as well as other State regulations concerning public health; (2)collect, analyze information and report about the occurrence, prevalence and the cessation of quarantinable epidemic diseases at the frontier port or abroad; (3)Exercise sanitary supervision at the frontier port and conduct quarantine inspection, epidemic disease monitoring, sanitary control and sanitization to the conveyances, passengers, containers, corpses, human bones as well as luggage, goods, postal parcels that may spread quarantinable epidemic diseases; (4) Carry out health and quarantine inspection of any special articles such as exported or imported microzoaria, biological, human tissue, blood and hemo products as well as some animals that may spread human epidemic diseases; (5) Offer services in preventive inoculation, physical checkup, medical treatment, consultancy on hygiene and health for international travellers; (6) Issue health and quarantine certificates; (7) Make epidemiological survey and carry out scientific experiments; (8) Fulfilling other tasks assigned to it by the General Administration of Customs and the health administrative department of the State Council. Article 20 Duties of the frontier health supervisor: (1) Exercise sanitary control and carry out publicity on hygiene and health to the conveyances at the frontier port or parked on the border waiting for exit or entry; (2) Give technical guidance in sanitization, such as disinfection, deratization and deinsectization; (3) Make investigation into the cases that has caused the spread of epidemic diseases and the proliferation of rodent, vector insects, food-poisoning and food-borne contamination, and suggest control measures. Article 21 When performing its duties, the health and quarantine inspector and border health supervisor are required to wear their quarantine uniform and their quarantine budges. Their conveyances at work are required to bear quarantine flags. The design of quarantine uniform, sign and flag and their uses shall be determined jointly by the General Administration of Customs and other departments concerned, subject to ratification by the State Council. CHAPTER IV SEAPORT QUARANTINE Article 22 quarantine inspection for incoming vessels must be carried out at quarantine anchorage or at the designated place approved by the health and quarantine organ. A quarantine anchorage shall be determined by the harbor superintendency and the health and quarantine authority through consultation, and be reported to the transport department of the State Council and the General Administration of Customs for recordation. Article 23 Prior to the arrival of the vessel subject to entry quarantine inspection, the shipping agent is required to inform the health and quarantine organ at the earliest possible time of the following matters: (1) Name and nationality of the vessel, scheduled date and time of arrival at the quarantine anchorage; (2) Port of departure and port of last call; (3) Number of crew and passengers; (4) Type of cargo. The harbour superintendency administration must inform the health and quarantine organ at the earliest possible time of the scheduled arrival date and time of the vessel at the quarantine anchorage. Article 24 In the course of navigation, if a quarantinable epidemic disease, a disease suspected to the quarantinable, or a death due to an unidentified cause other than occidental harm is discovered, the captain must make a prompt report to the health and quarantine organ about the following matters: (1) Name and nationality of the vessel, scheduled date and time of arrival at the quarantine anchorage; (2) Port of departure and port of final call; (3) Number of crew and passengers; (4) Type of cargo; (5) Name of disease or principal symptoms, number of cases and deaths; (6) Whether there are any doctors on board the vessel. Article 25 all vessels subject to entry quarantine inspection are required to hoist quarantine signals ready for inspection. Without an Entry Quarantine Permit issued by the health and quarantine organ, the quarantine signals shall not be lowered. In the day time, an international signal flag shall be put up at a conspicuous place on the vessel: (1) The "Q" sign flag means that the vessel is free from quarantinable epidemic diseases, and is applying for an Entry Quarantine Permit; (2) The "QQ" sign flag means that the vessel has on board a quarantinable epidemic disease or a disease suspected to be quarantinable and asks for instant quarantine sanitization. During the night, a light-signal shall be put up vertically at a conspicuous place on the vessel: (1) Three red lights indicate that the vessel is free from quarantinable epidemic disease and is applying for an Entry Quarantine permit; (2) Four lights in the order of Red-Red-White-Red indicate that the vessel has been contaminated by a quarantinable epidemic disease or a disease suspected to be quarantinable and asks for instant quarantine sanitization. Article 26 No persons other than navigation pilot and those approved by the health and quarantine organ shall be allowed to get on board the vessel(s) with quarantine flag or light signal(s); no unloading of luggage, cargo, postal parcels shall be allowed; no other vessel shall be allowed to get close; no crew member shall be allowed to leave the vessel without the approval by the health and quarantine organ, unless the vessel is in distress. The navigation pilot shall not guide the vessel(s) away from the quarantine anchorage. Article 27 Vessel(s) applying for quarantine inspection by telecommunication must first submit an application to the health and quarantine organ. A sanitary certificate shall be issued to the qualified vessel(s)which may apply for telecommunicated quarantine inspection within twelve months as of the issuance of the certificate. Article 28 the vessel with valid sanitary certificate must make a report, twenty-four hours prior to its arrival, to the health and quarantine organ about the following matters: (1) Name and nationality of the vessel, scheduled date and time of arrival at the quarantine anchorage; (2) Port of departure and port of last call; (3) Number of crew and passengers and their state of health; (4) Type of cargo; (5)Date of issuance and number of the vessel's sanitary certificate; date and port of issuance of the deratization certificate or a deratization laissez-passer, as well as other sanitary documents. Upon approval of the above report, the vessel(s) may enter the port. Article 29 Entry quarantine inspection of vessel(s) shall be conducted between sunrise and sunset. Round-the-clock quarantine inspection shall be conducted on vessel(s) at the port which have night navigation conditions for docking and unloading of cargo. No night-time quarantine inspection shall be conducted on vessel(s) form pestilence areas. Article 30 The ca......