It is a special ‘rat’ Spring Festival holiday, because Wuhan, the whole country, and even the whole world are in an ‘epidemic prevention battle’ aimed at novel coronavirus!

The medical staffs wait for 24 hours at the fever clinics and designated medical security houses; the policemen inspect epidemic prevention and control situation day and night on the road; the workers responsible for community job check up on epidemic situation and show loving care for the residents door by door against the cold and the risk of infection. And there are many quietly give up vacation and return to work, such as the administrative personnel, medical products manufacturers and their workers, volunteers...They are heroes at the forefront of this battle, and inspire us to be brave in the face of disaster in this cold winter.

‘Everywhere and everyone is responsible for protecting our own country’. In fact, in this battle, each of us is the main force of ‘epidemic prevention battle’, and we have our own ‘military disciplines’: wearing masks, washing hands frequently, and do not go out!

Recently, we have received some different questions about the implementation of legislation. Here, Mak&Gu&Tsang LawFirm offers you a guide on legal problems during the epidemic to answer your legal questions.

            ：China is listed as animal epidemic country, and there may be a 20-year economic recession!

        ：Nonsense! Don’t spread rumors!

On January 31, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the novel coronavirus epidemic as a ‘Public Health Emergency of International Concern’ (PHEIC). Then, ‘China is listed as animal epidemic country, and there may be an economic downturn for 20 years. Foreign investors will withdraw all their investment, causing widespread unemployment and soaring prices...’ These kinds of bad news scared netizen.

Don’t be afraid! PHEIC is the highest warning mechanism for epidemics issued by the WHO, which is valid for 3 months and can be canceled or changed at any time according to the development of the epidemic, and is nothing with the so-called ‘animal epidemic country’. Although PHEIC may cause China flight reduction or suspension, trade restrictions and other impacts, China will not be ‘quarantined’ and ‘isolated’ as a result. On the contrary, our country China will receive more technical and material support from the international community! So, PHEIC is a signal that ‘China needs help, come on, everybody’.

Every time something important happens, rumors keep coming back, among which some are owing to fear and ignorance as well as some are just misleading maliciously. On January 24^th, Gao was detained by local police for 5 days for deliberately exaggerating the number of people infected with the novel coronavirus and pneumonia in Tianjin and the China in WeChat group. Please note that people who spread rumors may not only bear civil liability for infringing the right to reputation, but also administrative liability for detention up to 10 days. They may also be convicted of the crime of fabricating or intentionally spreading false information, the crime of insult, the crime of defamation and so on, as well as may be included in the Internet Blacklist for breach of trust. Want to know more? Welcome to read our history article ‘Mouse and keyboard in grasping, twitter bleep in fabricating’.

The WHO secretary-general Desai Tan said: ‘Facts, not fears. Science, not rumors. Be united but not humiliated.’ Rumor stops at those who are witty, and please never spread rumors!

      ：There’s no one on the street. Can I stop wearing a mask?

        ：No! You must wear a mask if you go out.

Since the outbreak was announced, governments around the country have issued notices that everyone must wear masks entering public places, including Guangdong Province. On January 26^th, the Office of Guangdong Provincial Headquarters for preventing and controlling pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus issued a notice requiring all people entering public places to wear masks. Runners and managers of public places have the duty of supervision, and shall set up wearing-mask reminders at the entrance, and dissuade those who do not wear masks. As for those who do not listen to the dissuasion, runners and managers shall report to the competent authorities to carry out punishment, such as calling the police, Disease Control and Prevention as well as Health Commission, etc..

Hotels, shops, restaurants, parks, scenic spots, waiting rooms (airport, boat) and so on are all public places. Shall we wear masks in the street without people? The answer is yes. The notice also listed commercial and pedestrian streets as public places, so put on your face mask whenever you go out. Prevention is better than cure.

Some friends might want to wear face masks while driving, but are afraid of being photographed by electronic eyes when covering face. Don’t worry, traffic rules don’t prohibit people from wearing masks while driving, as long as the masks don’t block your normal view. During the special period, for your safety, you’d better wear a mask when driving, After all, the mask is better than the ventilator!

 ：Recently, I heard that someone sold fake face masks.

：Maybe he wants to spend the Spring Festival in prison.

A few days ago, it was reported on Weibo and WeChat moments that someone had picked up the masks in the garbage can for processing and selling. On January 27^th, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate issued a notice on earnestly implementing the central government’s plan for epidemic prevention and control and resolutely implementing procuratorial organs’ work in epidemic prevention and control, stressing the necessity to severely punish crimes of producing and selling fake or substandard prevention and control products and drugs during the epidemic prevention and control period.

Is it a criminal offence to sell fake masks? Yes.

According to the article 2 of the explanation on the specific application of law in criminal cases concerning the prevention and control of emergent infectious diseases and another disaster which is issued jointly by the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate in 2003, during prevention and control period of the sudden-outbreak infectious diseases and another disaster, if a crime is constituted by the production or sale of fake or inferior products or materials for prevention, cure and protection, or the production or sale of fake or inferior drugs used for the prevention and cure of infectious diseases, the offender shall be convicted of the crime of producing or selling fake or inferior products, the crime of producing or selling fake drugs or the crime of producing or selling substandard drugs, and shall be given a heavier punishment according to law.

On January 28^th, a man in Zhejiang was detained by local police on suspicion of producing and selling fake and substandard products because of replacing 120 boxes of expired masks at his home and selling them through WeChat. From the day when the battle for epidemic prevention began, such acts that harm people’s health must be given a heavier punishment, which is the law and also is the national determination to protect nationals as well as battle!

 ：How about gathering if you are at leisure?

：Today going everywhere, tomorrow coming with pneumonia.

On January 28^th, a farmer’s family in Jiangsu gathered to play mahjong and the police smashed two mahjong machines with hammers at anger; on the same day, the police in Anhui Maanshan entered the village to investigate and destroyed 16 mahjong machines; on January 29^th, the owner of a mahjong parlor in Fuzhou, Jiangxi, was detained by the police for 10 days owing to openly organizing citizens to play mahjong...

Since the outbreak of pneumonia, many local governments have hammered home the ban on parties. Although Guangdong Province did not ban parties explicitly, Zhuhai(in Guangdong) Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television, Tourism and Sports issued a supplementary notice on prevention and control of pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus on January 24^th, requiring all tourist attractions managers to suspend opening to the public. On January 25^th, Xiangzhou Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television, Tourism and Sports also announced that all culture or sports venues, scenic spots, entertainment venues and other business units suspended business; the Guangdong Administration for Market Regulation also issued the guidelines on the prevention and control of pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus in the catering industry in Guangdong province on January 28^th, banning the catering industry from hosting large-scale dinner parties...These measures are aimed at avoiding mass gatherings and controlling the outbreak most effectively.

Up to January 25^th, a total of 14 cases of the novel pneumonia caused by gatherings had been found in Guangdong, 13 of which were family gatherings. In the words of netizen, when pneumonia is rampant, visits are mutual injuries and parties are suicide attempts. Please don’t have a party!

 ：Can contracting pneumonic from job be counted as industrial injury? Be urgent!           

：The hero doing rescue and relief work should be protected!

The Regulation on Industrial Injury Insurances stipulates, an employee shall be deemed as suffering from industrial injury if he is injured in an act to protect national or public interests such as emergency rescue and disaster relief. On January 23^rd, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the Ministry of Finance, together with the Health Commission sent a letter, clearing that the health care and related personnel who is unfortunately infected due to performing job duties during this epidemic shall be deemed as suffering from industrial injury. So, medical personnel, policeman and another personnel fighting in the front line for preventing and controlling epidemic, are selfless heroes, and must be deemed as suffering from industrial injury if they are infected unfortunately.

If the worker sent to work in Wuhan by the unit does not belong to heath care or related personnel, how to decided?

In Guangdong, according to Guangdong Regulation on Industrial Injury Insurances, the worker shall be deemed as suffering from industrial injury if he is sent to work in the lawfully-announced epidemic area by the unit and is infected. That is to say, if the worker is sent to work in Wuhan and is infected unfortunately, he shall be deemed as suffering from industrial injury.

When our country is faced with a crisis, whether the unit or individual should be more understanding and work together to combat the epidemic ~

：Are there any pay for extended holiday and delayed return to work?

：Yes!

First, what are the salaries of pneumonia patients, suspected patients and close contacts during their quarantine period? Pay by normal working hours! If they still need treatment and must stop work after the end of the isolation period, their sick pay shall be calculated in accordance with the relevant provisions of the medical period of the ill workers.

Second, the notice on the extension of the Spring Festival holiday in 2020 issued by the General Office of the State Council extends the Spring Festival holiday to February 2^nd, and the extended three-day holiday (January 31^st, February 1^st and February 2^nd) is regarded as rest days. That is to say, the person that rests in these 3 days still has salary; the person that goes to work can take sometime off later, otherwise he or she shall be on double time for compensation!

In the end, many people must have received the notice to start work on February 10^th, because many provincial governments such as Guangdong, Shangxi, Shanxi, Hunan and Hubei have issued notices to delay reopening. Taking Guangdong as an example, all kinds of enterprises in Guangdong cannot reopen until 24 o‘clock on February 9^th. But what is the salary from February 3^rd to 9^th when the enterprises do not reopen? On January 30^th, the Ministry of Guangdong Human Resources and Social Security replied: if the enterprises stop production, the workers shall be paid in accordance with the labor contract standard! In the same way, if the enterprise can’t arrange for extra time off, it should pay the worker double time. Of course, the regulations of each province may be different, salary is calculated in accordance with the latest notice issued by the local human resources and social security department.

 ：Is the game good?

  ：Do you want to be put into prison or commit suicide?

The novel coronavirus was traced to wild animals illegally sold at a seafood market in Wuhan, leading to this outbreak being called as ‘game pneumonia’. Recalling the previous SARS virus, the first 11 SARS cases were from wild animal contacts. Game is a virus on the tip of the tongue, and its risk runs through hunting, breeding, slaughtering and eating. Want some game? Even if you are lucky enough to escape the call of death, the next step may be the walls of a prison.

The criminal law stipulates that anyone who illegally catches, hunts or kills rare or endangered wildlife under special state protection, or illegally purchases, transports or sells such animals or their products, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 10 years and shall also be fined or be sentenced to confiscation of property. Even if it is not a rare or endangered wild animal, anyone who violates hunting laws by destroying wildlife resources i.e. hunting in a sanctuary, during a closed season or using prohibited tools or methods, may be sentenced to up to three years in prison.

At the same time, the article 49 of the wildlife protection law stipulates specific illegal acts aimed at wildlife. One kind of act is using wildlife under special state protection as well as its products or the wildlife that isn’t under special state protection and has no legitimate sources as well as its products to make food for producing and running. The other one is illegally purchasing wildlife under special state protection and its products for eating. The competent department of wildlife protection or the department of market supervision and administration of the government at or above the county level shall, according to the division of duties, order those who carry out the aforementioned illegal acts to stop, confiscate the wildlife and its products and the illegal income, and impose a fine of not less than two times but not more than ten times the value of the wildlife and its products; if they are convicted of crime, they shall bear criminal punishment according to legislation.

Take pangolins as an example. Individuals and units that hunt, trade, kill or transport pangolins, such as game restaurants where pangolins are cooked and those who eat pangolins in game restaurants, will bear corresponding administrative or criminal responsibilities for their acts.

In order to combat the epidemic, Guangdong province issued the guidelines on the prevention and control of pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus in the catering industry of Guangdong, the first of which is to prohibit the running and storage of wild animals or wildlife products. Game and viruses, for us, are Pandora’s box that cannot and should not be opened. Today a piece of game, tomorrow meeting in hell. Please reject game together!

During this severe epidemic, each of us should shoulder social responsibility. As academician Nanshan Zhong said, Wuhan is a city of heroes. Similarly, China has always been a country brave and good at fighting against diseases! As long as we are fearless in the face of disaster, believe in our country, believe in science, together in the same boat and unity, our country will be able to win the battle against the epidemic! Go Wuhan, go China!