Migrant workers who rent in Beijing have the right to go back to their homes as long as they are not confirmed novel coronavirus patients and don't have a fever, cough or other symptoms of the disease, a senior official of the capital said on Friday. 

Zhao Jigui, deputy head of the Beijing Municipal Civil Affairs Bureau, said after a press conference that migrant workers who return from their hometown after Chinese Lunar New Year should be able to return as long as they are healthy. 

He made the comment because some residential communities in Beijing posted notes stating they would forbid migrant workers to go back to their rental housing in order to reduce the risk of infection. 

If anyone encounters such a situation and is blocked from their rental housing, he or she could call the civil service hotline 12345 or report to community authorities, Zhao said.