Containment necessary as schools open

Key meeting cites need for support to bolster training, facilities and supplies

A meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang on Thursday underlined the importance of putting sound epidemic containment measures into place at schools and universities with the start of a new semester underway in some provincial areas.

The leading group of the Communist Party of China Central Committee on responding to novel coronavirus pneumonia underscored that more training sessions must be offered to faculty members at schools and greater support must be extended to underserved schools in improving their health facilities and medical supplies.

Universities must devise detailed plans for epidemic containment and ensure the supply of medical resources based on the mix of students from different regions and the density of people in dormitories, classrooms and canteens, the group said in a statement.

It called for measures to set up and refine monitoring and reporting mechanisms for the health status of faculty members and students, saying that nucleic acid testing, antibody testing, isolation and observation must be implemented.

The meeting urged local authorities to quicken the evaluation of epidemic containment measures that were put in place during the May Day holiday period, when there were travel peaks and limits on the number of people who could gather in one location.

Authorities must summarize effective practices adopted at tourist attractions, restaurants, hotels and shopping malls that helped epidemic prevention and the reopening of businesses, it added.

The State Council Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism should offer guidance to local authorities through publishing guidelines and employing good practices to enable more targeted epidemic containment on a regular basis, the group said.

The goal is to facilitate the reopening of facilities providing daily services, help spur a rebound of consumer spending and bring social and economic development back to a normal track across the board, it said.

The meeting urged focusing more strength on research and development to bolster nucleic acid testing capacities.

The country will prioritize expanding the production capacity of testing equipment that can produce quicker results outside laboratories, the group said.

Authorities must step up support in policies, including reviews and approvals, and help key testing businesses solve their difficulties in expanding production capacity. The production of mobile laboratories must be accelerated, and more eligible third-party testing agencies must be greenlighted to offer nucleic acid testing services, the group said.