HANGZHOU — East China's Zhejiang province has released a pilot guideline for diagnosing and treating children infected by the novel coronavirus.

The guideline detailed the physical examination, systemic symptoms and the specific manifestations of severe and critical types, and emphasized the importance of epidemiological exposure history in diagnosis, said Chen Zhimin, an expert at the children's hospital affiliated to Zhejiang University's School of Medicine.

The guideline also underlined the potential risk of mother-to-child transmission of the novel coronavirus infection, as well as the importance of early detection, early isolation, early diagnosis, and early treatment.

"Children are more sensitive to drugs than adults and we need to pay more attention to the rational use of drugs," said Shu Qiang, director of the national research center for clinical medicine in children health and disease.