Testing capacity for COVID-19 to be boosted

A meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang on Thursday underlined the importance of bolstering testing capacity for COVID-19 and its antibodies while enabling more people to obtain tests to consolidate the outcomes of the country's epidemic containment.

The leading group of the Communist Party of China Central Committee on responding to the novel coronavirus outbreak said the country cannot afford any complacency in the face of the still arduous task of containing the illness, with the threat including infections imported from overseas and domestic occurrences in certain areas.

In a statement, the group urged local authorities to fully assume their responsibilities with a stronger sense of urgency and ensure that key groups from key areas can be tested across the board.

Communities and public venues must adopt scientific, targeted containment measures on a regular basis and employ closed-loop management involving screening, diagnosis, reporting and isolation measures after an outbreak is detected.

The group also called for a higher level of mental health support for individuals placed in isolation, saying that areas with clusters of infection must spare no effort to find the cause of the spread and cut the path of transmission.

Authorities must prioritize efforts to close gaps in containment measures at hospitals, ensure the protection of medical workers and prevent cross-infection, it added.

The Chinese mainland has seen a rise in the number of domestic cases this week as Guangdong province reported five local cases, Heilongjiang reported four and Beijing three, in addition to the 34 cases imported from overseas on Wednesday.

The meeting also instructed provincial authorities in border areas to come up with more targeted measures to refine containment plans and ensure different policies are enforced in different cities.

The country will send more experts in disease control and prevention as well as medical workers, including experts on treating severe cases and respiratory diseases, to border areas and cities to improve their medical diagnosis and treatment capacities, the statement said.

The group also pledged stronger support in virus containment professionals and medical supplies so border areas can elevate preparations for quarantine and detection measures, isolation venues and temporary and designated hospitals.

The group called for local authorities to refine measures to help businesses resume operations with normalized containment measures in place and promote the normal flow of personnel and production elements between regions.