China plans to build permanent facilities and more COVID-19 test sites to reinforce the country’s capability to prevent and control COVID-19 in the early stage of infection, according to Ma Xiaowei, director of China’s National Health Commission (NHC).
Ma unveiled China’s blueprint to prevent and contain the virus in the long run in an article published in the CPC Central Committee’s flagship magazine Qiushi Journal on Monday.
China will build up permanent hospitals as well as quarantine sites to enhance its capability of admitting COVID-19 infection cases, Ma wrote. It will also normalize COVID-19 monitoring mechanisms and carry out testing on a weekly basis.
Provincial capitals and cities with a population of over 10 million will set up more COVID-19 testing sites so that each person has one within a 15-minute’s walk. In addition, the blueprint calls for more laboratories to examine samples, including public labs and third-party laboratories.
Ma said the country needs to make an effort to contain the virus without affecting people’s basic medical demands and daily life. Hospital departments such as emergency, dialysis, surgery and ICU cannot be shut down unless essential, he noted.
He warned that when treating COVID-19 infections, China should prevent asymptomatic cases from overflooding medical resources and provide proper treatment for COVID-19 cases before they get serious.
Ma also called for improving the medical triage system and beefing up the number of ICU beds and first aid efforts.
