BEIJING, Dec. 22 -- Continuing the downward trend of occupational disease prevalence, the number of new cases in China declined by 40 percent between 2019 and 2022, according to a press conference held by the National Health Commission (NHC) on Friday.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), the NHC has launched a targeted campaign to combat occupational disease nationwide, especially in workplaces with excessive dust, toxic chemicals and noise.

So far, 185,000 enterprises have been included in the scope of the campaign, of which 71,000 have fully addressed any relevant issues, said NHC official Wang Jiandong.

Starting from 2019, 95 percent of county-level regions have been covered by occupational disease and harmful factor monitoring, with 314,000 enterprises, especially smaller businesses, included in the system, said Wang.