The Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council issued a guideline on regular prevention and control of COVID-19.

The move intends to prevent imported cases and domestic resurgence, ensure rapid response to an epidemic outbreak, provide effective treatment, and ensure overall recovery of the social and economic order.

The circular highlighted prevention as the primary task and stressed the importance of face masks, unnecessary gatherings, and good ventilation, disinfection and personal hygiene.

It also called for solid implementation of early detection, rapid handling, accurate control, and effective treatment.

With strict prevention measures in place, shopping malls, supermarkets, hotels and restaurants should be all opened, reservations will be used for parks and tourism scenic spots, and indoor areas and closed entertainment places, such as libraries and cinemas will be allowed to hold conferences and exhibitions if necessary.

Key areas, such as nursing institutions for the aged, charity houses, prisons and mental health institutions, should adopt strict prevention measures.

Vulnerable groups, such as the aged, children, pregnant women and those recovering from childbirth, the disabled and patients with severe, chronic diseases should be offered more help in personal protection and psychological counseling.

Meanwhile, epidemic prevention measures should be intensified in medical institutions, schools and residential communities. Early diagnosis and daily registration and reporting are necessary for patients and students.

The testing range should be further expanded. Key groups, such as close contacts of confirmed cases, people entering China, patients with a fever, new inpatients and those accompanying them, medical workers, port quarantine staff, prison staff and workers in nursing houses should all be tested. Qualified commercial testing institutions are encouraged to provide testing services.

Big data should play a more important role, the circular said. The national "health code" network should be popularized and testing results should be shared online in a timely manner.

The circular also called for more scientific research and international cooperation. Studies on vaccines, medicine, virus mutation, and immunity strategy should be promoted.

Various regions should dynamically adjust the risk level and emergency response level according to the local epidemic situation. Precise prevention and control should be carried out for any outbreak, it said.