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Coronavirus China
ChinaPolitics

China enlists coronavirus prevention squad for hospitals to help beat next wave

  • With infections from medical facilities a serious problem, this Chinese team aims to assess risks and establish an alarm system
  • Country is bracing for sporadic outbreaks over the winter

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Beijing City initiated an “emergency response code” last week following sporadic outbreaks of coronavirus. The Chinese government is looking at several measures to prevent the virus taking hold. Photo: AP Photo
Jane Cai
China’s National Health Commission has set up a team to help stop coronavirus infections in medical institutions as the country braces for more Covid-19 outbreaks, possibly in several cities at once.
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The group comprising 67 experts from hospitals across China will not only advise on policies around infection prevention and control arrangements in hospitals and other institutions, but also analyse risks and set up an alarm system for infectious diseases. The group will also investigate key public health events, the commission said on Monday.

The commission said the team was headed by Fu Qiang, a deputy director of the NHC’s health development and research centre, and members would serve on the team for three years.

It is expected the panel will improve the ability of medical services to prevent and control infectious diseases, make the most of experts’ academic strengths and safeguard people’s health.

The world is experiencing a resurgence of Covid-19 with variants detected in Britain, South Africa, Canada and other countries. In China, the capital Beijing launched an “emergency response code” last week following sporadic outbreaks.

A total of 27 new Covid-19 cases were reported in China on Monday, up from 21 a day earlier. Among them, 12 were imported cases and 15 locally transmitted from the northeastern province of Liaoning and Beijing.

Zhang Boli, an expert with the Chinese Academy of Engineering and head of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, said this month that China was expected to have “multipoint sporadic” outbreaks this winter.

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