BEIJING, Jan. 7 -- Grassroots-level clinics in China treat over 60 percent of the total fever patients received by hospitals in the country, playing a role as the first defense line against COVID-19, according to a press conference Saturday.

Currently, 98.7 percent of hospitals at township and community levels have fever clinics, said the State Council joint prevention and control mechanism against COVID-19.

China on Tuesday released a circular about ensuring health services and COVID-19 response at earlier stages for the vulnerable groups, stressing the importance of building a health network and fever clinics and supplying medical personnel, medicine, and equipment at grassroots medical institutions.

Noting that early health protection and disease prevention are the major tasks of the current grassroots COVID response, Nie Chunlei, an official of the National Health Commission, said the core is to carry out measures of early detection, identification, intervention, and referral.