Beijing confident low-key approach will protect China against Ebola
Authorities are confident strict controls mean mainland can contain any outbreak of disease
Beijing has quietly imposed strict border and health controls to prevent the spread of the deadly Ebola virus to China.
Border control and health authorities put a response plan in place in July and the measures were working well, even though the public was not aware of them.
Health authorities in Ningbo said yesterday a Nigerian who arrived in the city via Taiwan did not have the disease. The man was put under observation after he was found to have a fever but his temperature later returned to normal.
The haemorrhagic disease has killed more than 4,500 people in West Africa since early this year, with an estimated 70 per cent of victims dying.
An infectious diseases expert said China had the capacity to contain Ebola if an infected person entered the country.
"Compared with the high-profile quarantine inspections in 2009 when the H1N1 swine flu led to a global scare, the quarantine measures this time are very low-key. We're employing an 'intense inside and relaxed outside' strategy," an official with Shanghai's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said.