Shou Xiaoli:
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the press conference of the State Council's inter-agency task force. We have invited Luo Zhaohui, vice minister of foreign affairs; Li Bin, vice minister of National Health Commission; Yin Chengji, deputy commissioner of National Immigration Administration; Bi Kexin, head of the Import and Export Food Safety Bureau at the General Administration of Customs (GAC); Chen Xu, inspector of the Department of Food Operation of State Administration for Market Regulation. They will explain the situation of enhancing epidemic prevention and control in winter and carrying out the Patriotic Sanitation Campaign, and answer your questions. Now, I will give the floor to Mr. Li Bin.
Li Bin:
Good afternoon, friends from the media. The CPC Central Committee and the State Council attach great importance to the prevention and control of winter epidemic situation, the Patriotic Sanitation Campaign and supervision of imported cold-chain food. Leaders of the CPC Central Committee have issued many important instructions on how to prevent and control the epidemic in winter. Vice Premier Sun Chunlan has listened to reports on many occasions and studied and guided the prevention and control work. On the afternoon of Nov. 3, an important deployment was made at the teleconference of the State Council's inter-agency task force. It is required to prevent both inbound cases and a recurrence in domestic cases, so as to ensure that the epidemic will not rebound. On Nov. 6, the executive meeting of the State Council proposed that the Patriotic Sanitation Campaign should be combined with the epidemic prevention and control work in winter. The National Health Commission will firmly implement the deployment of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, and conscientiously implement the deployment of preventing both inbound cases and a recurrence in domestic cases.
First, it will offer guidance on epidemic prevention and control in autumn and winter. Recently, the National Health Commission, together with other relevant departments, has actively promoted the implementation of various epidemic prevention and control measures. The first is to strengthen prevention and control in the two seasons. The guidelines on COVID-19 prevention and control (seventh edition) and the diagnosis and treatment (eighth edition) and 18 technical support documents were issued to strengthen information dissemination and improve public opinion and guide the implementation of the "four early measures," which are early detection, early reporting, early quarantine and early treatment. The second step is to strengthen the guidance of the emergency response. The experience of defending Wuhan and the treatment of the cluster cases in Heilongjiang, Jilin, Beijing, Dalian and Urumqi has been comprehensively summarized. The guidelines for the treatment of the COVID-19 cluster cases and the prevention and control under different scenarios and situations have also been established. Working groups and expert groups have been dispatched to coordinate nucleic acid detection and critical care, and to guide and assist in dealing with the epidemic situation in Kashgar, Xinjiang, and to guide Tianjin, Shanghai and other regions to carry out epidemiological investigation and epidemic control measures. The third measure is to strengthen the prevention and control of imported cases. Technical guidance for COVID-19 prevention and control in cold-chain food production and operation sector is in place; guidelines for disinfection techniques and other relevant guidelines and specifications have been issued to comprehensively strengthen technical guidance for prevention and control work. It is vital to pay close attention to the spread of the virus in cold-chain food and organize experts to study and judge developments in a timely way. The fourth measure is to strengthen the construction of the winter epidemic response capacity. A national prevention and control experts team will be set up and training exercises will be carried out. We will support local governments to strengthening construction of their nucleic acid detection capacity, print and distribute technical documents related to nucleic acid screening and mixed detection, and organize the training of sampling and testing technicians. Fifth, the inter-agency task force of the State Council has carried out special supervision and inspection on epidemic prevention and control in autumn and winter. The State Council's general supervision also focuses on this aspect. Comprehensive investigations of loopholes and hidden dangers in regard to epidemic prevention and control will be undertaken. Local governments are required to correct any detected problems immediately and comprehensively, and implement various prevention and control measures strictly and carefully.
Second, deepening the Patriotic Sanitation Campaign
The Office of the National Patriotic Sanitation Campaign Committee (NPSCC) and its member units prioritize works in three areas. The first is strengthening top-level design. They drafted the Opinions on Deepening the Patriotic Sanitation Campaign and will publish it in the near future. The Opinions concludes experiences and unique approaches over a long period of time, especially during the prevention and control of the COVID-19 epidemic. The results-oriented document targets problems that have emerged, and identifies the objectives and key tasks of the Patriotic Sanitation Campaign for the future.
The second is perfecting the work mechanism. The office published the Working Rules of the NPSCC and the Segregation of Duties Between its Member Units as well as Key Tasks of the Patriotic Sanitation Campaign Nationwide in the Last Half of 2020, which further clarify the segregation of duties between member units of the NPHCC and the key tasks.
The third is pushing forward with the implementation of key tasks. For the prevention and control of flu and other seasonal infectious diseases as well as COVID-19, they released a circular on Nov. 10, arranging for the Patriotic Sanitation Campaign to be continued nationwide during winter and spring in order to facilitate COVID-19 prevention and control on an ongoing basis. Focus needs to be placed on improving environmental sanitation, cultivating good hygienic habits and enhancing vector control.
We have organized experts to carry out several assessments of the epidemic situation in the winter. Their opinion is that with the spread of COVID-19 accelerating across the globe, China faces higher risks of local transmission caused by inbound cases, and that we will see sporadic cases emerging in winter with the possibility of case clusters in some regions. Other respiratory infectious diseases will enter a high-incidence period in winter, so we cannot let our guard down for a minute regarding epidemic prevention and control. Next, the NHC and relevant agencies will focus on implementing tasks in six aspects.
The first is to continue epidemic prevention and control efforts by governments at all levels and the whole of society, combine the work of both professionals and the public, to enhance policy coordination and information sharing between different departments. We will urge local governments to perform their due responsibilities within their geographical jurisdiction, and work to ensure that different jurisdictions, departments, units and individuals fulfill their responsibilities.
The second is to enhance monitoring and early warning. We will accelerate efforts to improve our nucleic acid testing capabilities, and continue to ensure that we test all those in need among the eight groups including close contacts. We will also conduct nucleic acid tests among key groups including patients with fevers who might be carriers, workers involved in the imported cold-chain food industry, people working at quarantine sites, and workers involved in handling imported goods. In addition, we will conduct sampling tests on healthcare institutions, farm produce markets, and environments related to cold-chain food.
The third is to improve measures for preventing inbound cases. Together with relevant departments, we will strictly implement pre-departure prevention and control measures, ensure full coverage of nucleic acid tests for inbound personnel before their entry, tighten the inspection and quarantine of imported cold-chain food, comprehensively carry out active and preventative disinfection, improve measures such as medical observation during quarantine, and strengthen personal protection among those working at quarantine sites.
The fourth is to optimize key links in the prevention and control measures. We will focus on key locations including schools, elderly care institutions, welfare institutions for people with disabilities, farm produce markets, and healthcare institutions. We will implement systems and measures for epidemic prevention and control, and adopt strict measures to prevent case clusters. We will also guide people to develop good habits of wearing masks, frequent hand washing and maintaining social distancing, as well as to adopt a healthy lifestyle.
The fifth is to enhance emergency response. We will be well prepared to launch emergency response efforts as soon as an outbreak is identified, so we can immediately bring it under control.
The sixth is to enhance the monitoring and early warning of respiratory infectious diseases that frequently occur in winter, such as the flu, and pneumonias without known causes. We will enhance differential diagnosis in order to identify COVID-19 patients as early as possible, and conduct standardized medical treatment. We will lower the risk of COVID-19 outbreaks coinciding with outbreaks of other respiratory infectious diseases such as the flu. We will promote the use of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in the prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of related diseases. Thank you.
