Foreigners also facing restrictions to enter Beijing

Over the weekend, panic among expats with the “rumors” of the mandatory 14 days quarantine for anybody returning to Beijing. And yes, also applies to foreigners returning from Europe. See what started the “rumor”:

Finally I got the official document (click to open): 200216 BJFA
That means 14 days quarantine for people coming in Beijing. If unluckily you have someone in your plane/train showing symptoms you are good to stay at a “designated public quarantined area” for observation instead of “home quarantine”, whatever that means.
As a result my wife is not coming and stays in Brussels.

Way to go…

That also means: there is no point for businesspeople to come here, they will be locked up in their hotel (who pays?). And Beijing residents returning home might reconsider.
Beijing, more and more isolated.

Evacuation of foreigners

More and more foreign countries have, are or will evacuate their citizens from Wuhan. In other cities, such as in Beijing, there is still a way to leave. Where one can go is another problem. A majority of airlines has cancelled all flights with China. Most Chinese airlines still operate but with reduced frequencies.
But many countries restrict access, see here the present list from IATA:
https://www.iatatravelcentre.com/international-travel-document-news/1580226297.htm

To Tame Coronavirus, Mao-Style Social Control Blankets China

See: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/15/business/china-coronavirus-lockdown.html
Extract from this rather chilling article:

Residential lockdowns of varying strictness — from checkpoints at building entrances to hard limits on going outdoors — now cover at least 760 million people in China, or more than half the country’s population, according to a New York Times analysis of government announcements in provinces and major cities.
Throughout China, neighborhoods and localities have issued their own rules about residents’ comings and goings, which means the total number of affected people may be even higher. Policies vary widely, leaving some places in a virtual freeze and others with few strictures.
China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, has called for an all-out “people’s war” to tame the outbreak. But the restrictions have prevented workers from returning to factories and businesses, straining China’s giant economy. And with local officials exercising such direct authority over people’s movements, it is no surprise that some have taken enforcement to extremes.

The bureaucrats failed to listen to the president

As per SCMP and other media:
President Xi Jinping told the Communist Party’s top echelon to tackle an outbreak of a previously unknown coronavirus almost two weeks before Chinese authorities announced that there had been human-to-human transmission of the disease, according to an internal speech released on Saturday.
In the speech to the party’s most powerful body, the Politburo Standing Committee, Xi outlined a contingency plan to respond to a crisis that he said could not only hamper the health of people in China, but also jeopardize the country’s economic and social stability – even its open-door policy.
The speech was delivered on February 3 and published in the party’s bimonthly journal Qiushi on Saturday. It was also featured on state television and other official mouthpieces.

Postal services stopped

Bpost, Belgian Post, is stopping mail and packages to China s they claim “there are no flights available”. Not correct as Hainan Airlines still operates. Post from China is still OK…
Deutsche Post also informed it will not send packages to China.