Credit warning for hiding virus contacts

People who conceal their coronavirus infection, their travel to epidemic-stricken regions or their contact with patients will be put on a blacklist that will affect their credit, Shanghai's justice bureau said on Wednesday.

That will include subsidies for medical treatment, loan applications and their ability to do business in Shanghai.

Liu Ping, an inspector with the bureau, said perpetrators who caused the epidemic to spread would be punished under the Frontier Health Quarantine Law.

A guideline from the Supreme People's Court and four other departments this week specifies that people concealing their health condition or falsifying health declaration cards would be considered as committing the crime of disturbing frontier health and quarantine.

A Shanghai People's Congress Standing Committee decision stated that besides legal penalties, those concealing their health condition, history of travel to epidemic-stricken regions, contact with patients or who refuse to be quarantined would be put on the blacklist. 

For contracts terminated due to coronavirus disease, Liu said the epidemic can be seen as force majeure under certain circumstances, freeing part or whole responsibility of the person breaking the contract.

But he said that depends on several factors, including how great an influence the epidemic is on the contract.

He said problems should be solved through negotiation before going to court.