Policies and measures to support frontline medical personnel battling the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) must be well implemented, as required by the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council, according to a circular issued by the State Council’s joint prevention and control mechanism for the epidemic on March 11.

The circular stressed greater care for medical staff fighting at the frontline by ensuring timely payment of subsidies for temporary work, one-off consolation subsidies and allowances for sanitary anti-epidemic actions.

The amount of subsidies for temporary work depends on the number of days when a frontline medical worker is in direct contact with confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 and specimens from COVID-19 patients (including autopsies), it said.

Allowances for sanitary anti-epidemic actions will apply to all frontline medical personnel contributing to epidemic prevention and control until it ends, the circular said.

Frontline medical workers should enjoy the same salary and benefits in the day-off and quarantine period as for working days, according to the circular. And the days off in the rotating schedule and quarantine days should not be counted into annual vacation.

The circular also urged local governments to guarantee food, nutrition, and other daily supplies for quarantined medical staff and those in rotation.