Photo: GT

 
China stepped up efforts to prevent the fatal coronavirus from further spreading by coming up with guidelines for prevention and deploying community healthcare staff, which is expected to play a major role in enhancing prevention work, the national health authority said Wednesday. 

Chinese authorities at different levels have launched measures to contain the spread of infection during the upcoming return rush after the Spring Festival holiday is over, Feng Zijian, deputy chief of the Chinese Center for Disease Control said during a press briefing Wednesday afternoon. 

Particularly, migrant workers should be in close touch with the local community committee and report to the hospital timely if symptoms occur, Feng said. 

For instance, communities in Beijing's Fangzhuang region have designated officials to follow up with residents returning from Wuhan and monitor their physical condition, besides arranging psychologists to provide counseling to residents, said Wu Hao, director of community health service at Fangzhuang in Beijing's Fengtai district  during the briefing. 

Wu particularly reiterated that Wuhan residents are not enemies, the disease is. Considering the magnitude of the situation, to contain potential sources of infection, a rational approach should be adopted, the official said. 

Wuhan, the epicenter of the virus, has been in the spotlight in recent days, and residents from Wuhan have been treated differently due to growing fear of the novel coronavirus, which was also seen as an act of discrimination. Some hotels in South China’s Guangdong Province reportedly refused to admit tourists from Wuhan, which sparked heated online discussions. 

“Quarantine is aimed at curbing the spread of disease, not severing true feelings,” Wu said, urging people to cooperate with local authorities in implementing preventive measures. 

Feng also suggested those who return from virus-hit areas should be quarantined for 14 consecutive days and their health condition should be monitored, twice every day. Besides, members of community healthcare staff are likely to contact those people to take into account the changes to their health condition. 

China has been battling the contagious novel coronavirus, with over 5,900 confirmed infection cases nationwide as of Wednesday morning, surpassing the overall infection number of SARS in 2003.