BEIJING — Speed and efficiency need to be improved to ensure the effective containment of the COVID-19 Delta variant, a health official said on Aug 13.

As the Delta variant is characterized by its fast-spreading and highly infectious nature, community-level measures must be put in place before it spreads, said National Health Commission official Gao Guangming at a press conference.

Speed should be observed in decision-making, primary-level early warnings, emergency response efforts, centralized isolation, and information sharing, Gao said.

Tailored measures should be applied to regions with different risk levels to minimize the affected area as soon as possible, he said.