Southern Metropolis Daily:

Recently, the NHC and the Hubei provincial epidemic prevention and control headquarters conducted large-scale training together on the epidemic prevention and control, and adopted a "1+2+3+N" training model. What is the purpose of conducting large-scale epidemic prevention and control training under the current circumstances? How has the training work progressed so far? Thank you.

Ma Xiaowei:

NHC Vice Minister Yu Xuejun will take this question.

Yu Xuejun:

Thank you for asking this question, and thank you for your attention regarding the epidemic prevention and control training. In the fight against COVID-19, nearly 1,000 medical professionals from disease control departments and the field of public health from all over the country headed to Wuhan to help. They made great contributions to the epidemic prevention and control work, while accumulating a lot of experience.

In order to consolidate the hard-won achievements in epidemic prevention and control, in accordance with the requirements by the Central Guidance Team in Hubei, the NHC, in conjunction with the Hubei provincial COVID-19 epidemic prevention and control headquarters, launched a weeklong series of large-scale epidemic prevention and control training activities in the province in late March.

The purpose of this large-scale training was very clear. On the one hand, based on the current situation, we aimed to promote communities' forward momentum in epidemic prevention and control, put the focus of their work at the grassroots, and improve the level of epidemic prevention and control in grassroots communities. On the other hand, focusing on long-term progress, we aimed to promote the improvement of the Hubei provincial epidemic prevention and control team's abilities, and cultivate a local team that is able to win an epidemic battle. The large-scale training lasted a week and adopted a "1+2+3+N" model. "1" refers to a training session with medical professionals, whereby National and provincial experts conducted training across the whole province. "2" refers to two special themed training courses centered around the epidemic prevention and control. "3" refers to the three key fronts, as the training was focused on communities, the resumption of work and production, and teaching practical operations at special key areas and locations. At the same time, in accordance with the individual needs of each region, there was support for "N," or "numerous," targeted customized training sessions.

Regarding the progress of the training you mentioned, I have a set of data here. During this large-scale training, senior experts at the national and provincial level went to the grassroots, conducting hands-on training and on-site guidance for 5,597 disease control, public health and medical personnel in all counties, towns and districts in 17 cities and prefectures in a point-to-point manner. A total of 444 special training sessions and 262 customized training sessions were held in cities, counties and districts, training more than 48,000 people in a concentrated manner and more than 21,000 people in on-site practical operations, while more than 5,000 lectures were held during the sessions.

The large-scale training, through lectures, has helped regions and various departments to further enhance risk prevention awareness and continuously improve epidemic prevention and control plans throughout Hubei province. Through drills, the training uncovered loopholes and made up for shortcomings and weaknesses, laying a solid foundation for comprehensively building up the grassroots community network. Through training, we could improve both the epidemic prevention and control abilities and daily work abilities of grassroots public health teams. We could also build a stronger defensive line to protect the lives and guarantee health of the people. Thank you.