What’s new: China’s cabinet announced a raft of measures Friday to tackle a wave of respiratory infections that has hit children particularly hard, as it could last until spring.
Local authorities should strengthen health surveillance and other disease control measures in key places such as schools and kindergartens as cases of influenza and mycoplasma pneumoniae have been on the rise in China since October, according to a notice from the State Council’s Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism.
Officials also ordered stepped-up vaccinations for children, seniors and people with underlying medical conditions, the notice said. Other measures include ramping up the production and supply of certain medications and requiring border authorities to keep a closer eye on incoming travelers with a strict regime of temperature checks and investigations into signs of illness.
Mycoplasma pneumoniae infections will remain high in some areas, the officials predicted in the notice, while flu cases nationwide should peak in the coming months. China is also facing the risk of a rebound in Covid cases this winter, they said, warning that multiple respiratory diseases could become prevalent until next spring.
The background: At a press conference Friday, National Health Commission spokesperson Hu Qiangqiang said the recently reported cases were caused by known pathogens, and authorities had informed the World Health Organization (WHO) about the recent epidemics on Thursday.
The WHO had requested detailed information due to the increase in respiratory illnesses in China and reported clusters of pneumonia in children.
Contact reporter Wang Xintong (xintongwang@caixin.com) and editor Michael Bellart (michaelbellart@caixin.com)
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