State Council frees up shipping flows with notice

Local authorities are prohibited from recklessly restricting travel of freight vehicles and truck drivers due to COVID-19 curbs, according to a notice released by the State Council's Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism on Monday aimed at smoothing flows of essential foods amid a severe flare-up of COVID-19.

They are also barred from giving permission for travel based on registration places of a truck or a driver or simply denying them entry because their mobile travel code is asterisked — suggesting they might have been to areas seeing new infections recently.

In addition, local officials are forbidden from blocking or closing off expressways, public roads, waterways and water navigation locks or setting up anti-virus checkpoints along the main lines and service areas of highways without official authorization.

Such checkpoints should be established outside toll gates. It is encouraged to set up designated lanes and areas dedicated for truck drivers to take a break.

Truck drivers who travel through transfer hubs inside locked down cities should be placed on a whitelist to guarantee convenient access. But they should be put in closed-loop management and their nucleic acid testing results within the past 24 hours should be negative.

More nucleic acid testing stations should be set up at highway service areas seeing large traffic.

The notice suggests offering free tests for truck drivers and sailors. Basic services such as providing meals and toilets should also be offered to those who are stranded due to the epidemic.