Staff in protective suits talks with a passenger at the Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing, China, March 18, 2020. [Photo/Xinhua]

The capital is tightening up outbound management to require all citizens to suspend their travel plans if not necessary as the COVID-19 pandemic worsens overseas.

Beijing's disease control and prevention leading group stressed on Friday night that as the cross-border infections of the novel coronavirus have raged recently, it's essential to implement the requirements of all inbound travelers to undergo centralized quarantine and conduct regular checks to scrutinize the medical observation of those passengers.

Outbound management also needs to be strengthened, the group said. If not necessary, citizens in Beijing have to suspend their travel plans.

For the actual demand for isolated people in medical treatment, specific management measures need to be researched and planned ahead to form a closed-loop management for inbound passengers, it added.