Beijing has begun receiving the first batch of people who had been stranded in Hubei province, the hardest-hit province in the COVID-19 epidemic, the city's Civil Affairs Bureau said on Monday.

The first batch of 200,000 returnees, who began returning on Wednesday, will be spread out over the 20 days ending on April 14. They began returning after the province lifted traffic controls in all areas except for its capital, Wuhan.

As of Sunday, about 10,000 people who had been stranded in Hubei had already returned to Beijing via high-speed train, according to a senior capital official in charge of the operation on Sunday.

People returning from the hard-hit province are required to undergo a 14-day quarantine either at home or in centralized sites in Beijing.

The Civil Affairs Bureau said that ensuring a closed loop for transferring returnees from Hubei is necessary. District officials have set up separate passenger distribution sites to pick up returnees and register their information.

For example, in Beijing's Chaoyang district, authorities have transformed the east side of Chaoyang Park into a transfer point for returnees. Forty-three subdistrict offices have set up tents to process residents.

When trains arrive in Beijing, special channels for returnees are available. Regular body temperature checks are conducted throughout the process.

The total number of returnees from Hubei will be tabulated by each district and reported daily to Beijing municipal government, according to the bureau.