Coronavirus: Latest Emergency Measures Announced by the PRC Government
January 26, 2020Posted byChina BriefingWritten byDezan Shira & AssociatesReading Time:2 minutes
This is a brief summary of the emergency measures implemented by China’s central government in response to the coronavirus outbreak (as of January 26, 2020).
China’s central government has made an announcement concerning measures designed to combat the spread of the coronavirus, which has already been identified across many Chinese cities. The key points are as follows:
The Chinese New Year holiday period will be extended “as appropriate”. This is designed to reduce the motivation for people to travel back from their home towns to where they work during this critical period.
The start of the upcoming semester at schools and colleges around the country will also be delayed.
Detailed implementation rules will be announced by governments on a city-by-city basis in response to the particular set of circumstances they are facing.
The first formal announcement has come from the Suzhou government, Jiangxi Province (see official link here). The Suzhou announcement is summarized below as an example of the degree of seriousness with which local governments are treating the current situation:
Suzhou residents currently outside of the city – are not to return to Suzhou. Those residents currently in Suzhou shall only move around when required. For companies operating within the administrative district, staff may not come back to work before February 8. Schools may not re-open before February 17. Exceptions exist for organizations involved in providing basic services for residents (provision of water, gas, electricity etc.) and those involved in combating the spread of the virus.
For any Suzhou residents in transit (returning to Suzhou), inspections shall be carried out on every individual at stations, ports, roads, and highway exits. All such persons shall be restricted to their homes or sent to specialist facilities for a minimum period of 14 days after their return.
Any resident who has traveled to Hubei in the past two weeks, or those who have had physical contact with people from Hubei, or those who have had physical contact with anyone already infected with the coronavirus – are required to report to a medical center to report their health condition and have their temperature taken. They should then be restricted to their homes or go to specialist facilities for observation. If such people start displaying symptoms, such as a high temperature, they must wear a face-mask and go straight to the medical center.
Local administrative bodies should organize task forces to make house visits to propagate the measures put in place by the State Sanitation and Health Committee.
All meetings and gatherings are to be cancelled. Group social meals of all types, whether organized by companies or individuals, are prohibited. Any pre-planned events must be cancelled or delayed. All cinemas, leisure facilities, internet cafes, saunas, etc. are to be closed. Retirement homes and rehabilitation facilities are to be locked-down.
Some roads shall be closed. Road checks will be put in place on the roads that remain open. Light railway and bus routes will run on a reduced schedule.
Administration officials and companies shall put in place measures to monitor the situation within their organizations. If any risk is discovered, they must take immediate action.
https://www.china-briefing.com/news/...rc-government/
[Wuhan Pneumonia] Mayor of Wuhan: More than 5 million people leave Wuhan (23:35)
Figure 1-1-Wuhan Hankou Yanjiang Avenue is inaccessible today (26th). (Xinhua News Agency) The outbreak of new-type coronavirus in the Mainland continues. Wuhan Mayor Zhou Xianwang said today (26th) that more than 5 million people have left Wuhan and another 9 million are still in the city. It is estimated that there may be another 1,000 confirmed cases in Wuhan.
In addition, China’s CDC detected for the first time from 585 environmental samples in the South China Seafood Market today that 33 samples contained novel coronavirus nucleic acids. These samples came from 22 stalls and a garbage truck in the market. Positive samples exceeded 90%. From the western part of the market, where there is a wildlife trade, it is highly suspected that the outbreak was related to wildlife trade.
https://news.mingpao.com/ins/%e5%85%...ad%a6%e6%bc%a2