newsletter for june 2009

The U.S. Embassy is transmitting the following newsletter via its warden system as a public service to U.S. citizens in the People's Republic of China.  Please feel free to disseminate this message to U.S. citizens in your organizations or to other Americans you know.

If there are any particular topics you are interested in, please contact ACS at amcitbeijing@state.gov.  We welcome your suggestions and your feedback.

In this issue, the following topics are addressed:

Upcoming Holidays
Influenza Outbreak Information
Please Check Your Passport Expiration Dates
Federal Voting Assistance Program
Recent Travel Warnings and Alerts
Embassy Contact Information

1. Upcoming Holidays:
The U.S. Embassy will be closed on the following dates:

June 26             4th of July celebration
July 3               Independence Day

Please be advised that the days just before and after a holiday are usually exceptionally busy in the American Citizen Services Unit of the Embassy.  Please be sure to schedule appointments on-line at http://beijing.usembassy-china.org.cn/service.html
 
A complete list of all of our holiday closings for 2009 is available at: http://beijing.usembassy-china.org.cn/holidays.html
In case of emergencies, please call the Embassy's emergency number at 86-10-8531-4000 from the United States or 010-8531-4000 within China.

2. Influenza Outbreak Information
The following information was taken from the Warden Message that was distributed on June 1, 2009.  The complete message and all future Warden Messages can be found at http://beijing.usembassy-china.org.cn/index.html, along the right side of the page under the title “Warden Messages.”  Please check this website regularly.

Warden Message
June 1, 2009

This warden message provides U.S. citizens with the latest information regarding human cases of 2009-H1N1 Influenza, and it updates the warden message dated May 5, 2009. 

Many travelers enter China’s borders each day without difficulty.  With the summer tourist and student season approaching, however, the Chinese government has recommended that travelers from countries with cases of 2009-H1N1 Influenza, including the United States, quarantine themselves upon arrival for seven days. 

Some local authorities are being exceedingly cautious and are imposing mandatory quarantine periods on all American travelers hosted by their institutions.  As implementation of these local policies is decided by Chinese officials and host organizations and may vary by location, you should check frequently with your tour group, host institution or hotel before traveling to China on what procedures will be in effect for you or your group.  You should be aware that foreign travelers, including U.S. citizens, to China are obliged to follow local procedures regarding quarantines and any public health-related measures.

As has also been done in at least 26 other countries/territories (including the USA, Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea), China has instituted the following procedures for border authorities to screen for the possibility of influenza among passengers on arriving international flights.  The procedures followed thus far are:

1)  Flights arriving from affected countries will be segregated at specific gates and passengers will move through specific channels for Health and Quarantine (H&Q) clearance. 

2)  Prior to disembarking from the aircraft, either local health officials or airline staff will take temperature readings of each passenger.  Temperature scanning equipment currently being used does not touch or make contact with the traveler. 

3)  Passengers will also be required to complete and submit a health declaration card, which will be provided by the air carrier.  The cards will be collected either on board the aircraft or as part of entry procedures in the arrival terminal.  

4)  Passengers may face additional thermal-scanning procedures in the arrival terminal.

5)  If there are one or more suspected cases of H1N1 on an arriving flight, the air carrier will be required to report the case to Chinese H&Q prior to the arrival of the flight.  Passengers and crew on the flight will be quarantined in a designated area (e.g., in Beijing, Terminal 3: Concourse D) until H&Q determines what steps to take, which may include simply completing a “Quarantine Card,” undergoing a routine medical exam at the airport, or, in some circumstances, transportation to local hospitals and/or hotels designated for quarantine. 

6)  H&Q will implement different procedures for specific passengers with 2009-H1N1 influenza symptoms, which may include observation in a hospital designated to handle H1N1 cases, or quarantine (e.g., in Beijing: Guomen Hotel).  As of June 1, 2009, the official quarantine period was announced to be up to seven days.  As of June 1, 2009 the principal hospitals designated as H1N1 treatment centers were:

-       Beijing:  Ditan Hospital, You'An Hospital, and Peking Union Hospital.
-       Shanghai:  Shanghai Public Health Center, Jinshan District and Children's Hospital of Fudan University, Minghan District
-       Guangzhou: Guangzhou No. 8 Hospital
-       Chengdu:  Huaxi Hospital, People's No. 6 Hospital, and Chengdu No. 4 Hospital.
-       Shenyang:  Shenyang Infectious Disease Hospital.

7)  Should you encounter any of the quarantine procedures described above, please e-mail AmcitBeijing@state.gov with your name, passport number, quarantine location and contact details, or call the American Citizen Services office at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing Monday through Friday between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm at 86-10-8531-4000. 

The Embassy reminds U.S. citizens that most cases of influenza are not 2009-H1N1 Influenza.  Any questions or concerns about influenza or other illnesses should be directed to a medical professional.  Although the Embassy cannot provide medical advice or provide medical services to the public, listings of hospitals and doctors for the five consular districts can be found at the following websites:

Beijing:   http://beijing.usembassy-china.org.cn/acs_health.html
Shanghai:  http://shanghai.usembassy-china.org.cn/medical_facilities.html
Guangzhou:  http://guangzhou.usembassy-china.org.cn/medical_providers_in_south_china.htm
Chengdu:  http://chengdu.usembassy-china.org.cn/health/_local_doctors.html
Shenyang:  http://shenyang.usembassy-china.org.cn/medical2.html

For further information about 2009-H1N1 Influenza, including steps you can take to stay healthy, please consult the Department of State information at http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_pandemic.html, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website at http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/, the U.S. Government pandemic influenza website at http://www.pandemicflu.gov, and the World Health Organization website at http://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/en/index.html.  For additional travel safety information, please consult the State Department's website at http://www.travel.state.gov.

3. Please check your passport expiration dates!
As the summer travel season approaches, please check the passports of all your family members to verify that they are all still valid and do not expire any time soon!

Some countries require that passports have at least 6 months of validity remaining before they will issue visas and/or allow entry.

For information about a specific country’s visa and entry requirements, the best source of information would be that country’s Embassy or Consulate; however, you can also visit the U.S. State Department’s website at http://www.travel.state.gov/travel/travel_1744.html to see country specific information about your destination.

If your passport will expire soon, please make an appointment with ACS to renew your passport. 

Please remember that passport applications must be made in person at the American Citizen Services office of the Embassy or Consulate nearest to you.  New passports are generally received within one week to ten days after the application is approved.
                                                                                      
For more information on submission of a passport application, please visit our website at http://beijing.usembassy-china.org.cn/passports.html. 

To make an appointment, please visit http://beijing.usembassy-china.org.cn/as092508.html.

4. Federal Voting Assistance Program
The FVAP provides U.S. citizens worldwide a broad range of non-partisan information and assistance to facilitate their participation in the democratic process - regardless of where they work or live. The FVAP also administers the Federal responsibilities of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), which designates armed forces recruiting offices nationwide as voter registration agencies allowing eligible U.S. citizens to apply for voter registration, or apply to change voter registration data.

For more information about the Federal Voting Assistance Program, please visit http://www.fvap.gov/.

5. Recent Travel Warnings and Alerts
The U.S. Department of State has recently issued travel warnings or travel alerts for the following countries and regions:

Recent Travel Warnings
Lebanon    05/13/2009
Yemen    04/24/2009
Georgia    04/09/2009
Sudan    04/08/2009
Central African Republic    04/01/2009
Colombia    03/25/2009
Madagascar    03/17/2009
Saudi Arabia    03/04/2009
Algeria    03/04/2009

Current Travel Alerts
Mexico - H1N1 Influenza   04/28/2009
Mexico - Security   04/20/2009
Comoros   03/16/2009
Arabian Peninsula and Persian Gulf   02/11/2009
South Pacific Cyclone Season   12/10/2008

For additional information about these travel warnings and alerts, go to this site:
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_1764.html

6. Embassy Contact Information
American Citizen Services
U.S. Embassy, Beijing
No. 55 An Jia Lou Road ( 安家楼路 )
Beijing 100600
Telephone: (86-10) 8531-4000
FAX: (86-10) 8531-3300
Email: amcitbeijing@state.gov

American Citizens should enter the Consular Section at the Embassy's east gate.   The east gate is located at the Tian Ze Road Intersection of An Jia Lou Road, close to Ladies’ Street (Nüren Jie) and Laitai Flower Market, opposite the Kempinski Hotel and Lufthansa Shopping Center.   The nearest subway location is the Liangmaqiao stop on line #10.

Address in Chinese:

美国驻华大使馆
美国公民服务处
北京市朝阳区安家楼路55号
邮政编码：100600

For the most current information regarding services, scheduling appointments and operating hours, please visit the American Citizens Services (ACS) page on the U.S. Embassy website http://beijing.usembassy-china.org.cn/service.html

End of newsletter.