International passengers line up at a distance of 1 meter between each other when handing in the health declaration cards at the Beijing Capital International Airport on Sunday. Photo: Liu Xin/GT

Beijing health authorities have called on Chinese students overseas to suspend their travel plans back to China or other countries or regions amid the epidemic outbreak considering the risk of COVID-19 infection during long trips.

They also have revealed that infection risk is comparatively high among passengers on certain flights from overseas - EY888, SU204, EK306 and CA846 - according to information from imported cases in the capital.

Confirmed COVID-19 cases outside China have exceeded those in China while the epidemic has affected a total of 159 countries and regions as of Tuesday, according to the World Health Organization, which Chinese health officials and experts warn is a huge threat to the country's scarcely achieved improvement in the battle against the novel coronavirus.

As of Tuesday, 155 imported cases have been reported across China, according to the National Health Commission.

Among these cases, many are reportedly overseas students who fear staying alone in Europe and the US given the worsening epidemic in these places.

Pang Xinghuo, vice director of Beijing's Center of Disease Control, made the remarks at a press conference on Wednesday, suggesting that overseas Chinese students should try to avoid unnecessary trips and suspend returning or making other travel plans, at least for the time being, especially those with acute or chronic diseases.

If they must travel, it is better for them to choose direct flights to reduce the risk of infection during transfers and bring protective materials like masks and sanitizer, Pang noted.

She also revealed four flights between Beijing and foreign cities which show comparatively high infection risk based on confirmed imported cases, namely Etihad Airways EY888 between Beijing and Nagoya; Aeroflot Russian Airlines SU204 between Moscow and Beijing; Emirates Airlines EK306 between Dubai and Beijing and Air China CA846 between Barcelona and Beijing.

Beijing authorities require all passengers arriving from overseas to have a 14-day quarantine at designated places starting from Monday. Violators will be punished according to the law.