Rest homes' ability to treat COVID emphasized

Local governments must ensure that elderly people in rest homes are promptly treated for COVID-19, said the State Council's Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism, the national task force responsible for controlling COVID-19.

Local authorities must ask community and town health centers to assess health risks to residents of rest homes, provide health management accordingly and make house calls when necessary, the department stated in a notice released online earlier this month.

The department stated that authorities should also draw up emergency treatment plans for rest homes, and make sure all homes are able to transfer critically-ill residents to tertiary hospitals for emergency care, and asked emergency medical centers to partner with rest homes to ensure there is no delay in ambulance services.

Also, tertiary hospitals and other health institutions must make full use of information technology and offer online health assessments and consultations to rest home residents.

Ministry seeks industrial economy growth in 2023

At a meeting convened in Beijing earlier this month, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology called for all-out efforts to promote the steady growth of the country's industrial economy in 2023.

Targeted plans should be made to ensure the growth of different sectors, the ministry said, encouraging major industrial provinces to play a vital role in achieving growth.

It also said that it supports central and western regions in accommodating and developing industries that have moved there from elsewhere, and voiced its support for northeastern China, the country's traditional industrial heartland, for making breakthroughs in revitalizing local manufacturing.

Among other requirements, the ministry called for efforts to stabilize the consumption of bulk items, including automobiles, upgrading the national consumer goods industry and increasing the supply of household products for the elderly.

Other tasks this year include properly implementing the 14th Five-Year Plan, making key national industrial chains more independent and controllable, and speeding up upgrades to traditional manufacturing industries.

Rail staff to be vigilant during travel rush

Railway transport companies should improve health management for their staff and advise passengers to take precautions, the National Railway Administration said, as the large number of travelers during the Spring Festival travel rush potentially pose a challenge to national pandemic response efforts.

It is estimated that more than 2 billion passenger trips will be made during the 40-day travel rush, which will last from Jan 7 to Feb 15.

In a notice released online on Friday, the administration urged employees to wear a mask and keep their hands clean at work, and to reduce socializing after work.

Railway transport companies should monitor the health of employees daily and those who have a fever or show other symptoms should inform their employers and take leave.

Employees can return to work a week after developing symptoms or if their symptoms have already passed, the administration said, urging those who have been ill to practice strict precautionary measures upon returning to work.

Railway companies should ensure that all employees not contraindicated receive COVID-19 booster shots.

While they should no longer take the temperature of passengers, companies should remind them to wear masks, wash their hands, maintain social distancing and practice cough etiquette during the journey, the administration said, calling on people with symptoms or who have tested positive to refrain from traveling.