New virus control measures to clamp down on school outbreaks

The Ministry of Education will enhance COVID-19 emergency response protocols and prevention measures in schools and universities across China to stop the spread of the virus, Wang Dengfeng, director general of the Department of Physical, Health and Arts Education at the Ministry of Education, said in a news conference on Tuesday.

Of the 28 Chinese cities and provinces that have reported new cases, more than 10 have reported cases at educational institutions. As a result, strengthening patient transfers, quarantine, treatment, counseling and other measures is crucial to safeguarding the health and well-being of students, Wang said.

New prevention methods are being adopted to curb the outbreak, he said. For example, schools and universities in 23 regions and provinces have begun randomized nucleic acid tests for students and faculty to catch early cases.

Hohhot, capital city of the Inner Mongolian autonomous region, has assigned each of its districts to oversee a specific school. If an outbreak occurs in one of the schools, the associated district will be mobilized to transfer and quarantine its students, ensuring that emergency response protocols are carried out swiftly and effectively, he said.

This method can solve two of the biggest issues in curbing school outbreaks, namely the population density of school environments and the lack of anti-epidemic resources, Wang said.

"We will facilitate the implementation of this policy on a broader level, so that our schools and universities can promptly receive support from local governments," he said.