Meeting calls for enhanced prevention measures

China will send expert groups and test kits, facilities and medical treatment equipment to bolster novel coronavirus containment and treatment in the nation's border regions, according to a decision made at a meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang on Monday.

The leading group of the Communist Party of China Central Committee on responding to the novel coronavirus outbreak underlined the importance of unrelenting efforts to tighten management at border crossings and minimize unnecessary traffic to curb the importation of COVID-19 cases.

Expert groups will be sent to support epidemic containment, the building of temporary hospitals, the establishment of quarantine facilities and designated medical institutions and the treatment of infected patients in border areas, the group said in a statement.

The meeting highlighted the need for coordinated steps to ensure port management, quarantine, separated transfer of patients and stronger isolation and treatment measures.

China will step up international cooperation in epidemic containment and carry out strict quality supervision of its exported medical supplies, the group said, adding that ineligible exporters, those who failed to follow quality standards and those inflating the price of products and raw materials will be punished in accordance with the law.

The meeting's decision came as China reported 108 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, of which 98 were imported from overseas. Heilongjiang province and the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, which both border Russia, accounted for a majority of the new imported cases, according to the National Health Commission.

The authorities must ensure the early detection of confirmed and asymptomatic cases through prevention measures at communities and fever clinics before enforcing isolation and treatment measures, it added.

The group underscored that the testing and health management of individuals departing from Wuhan must be reinforced, and measures to expand the scope of nucleic acid testing and testing for antibodies must be carried out at an early date.

The nucleic acid testing must cover those working as teachers, medical workers and in public venues and transport vehicles at their destinations, it said, adding that other groups departing from Wuhan will also be encouraged to receive the testing.

Individuals who have been tested negative or proved with specific antibodies against the virus within seven days before their arrival in their destinations can return to work or school without having to self-isolate, the group said.

xuwei@chinadaily.com.cn