At a meeting on March 16, Premier Li Keqiang urged efforts on speeding up the orderly resumption of work and production in an all-around way to resume normal production and life order in China.
Premier Li is a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, and also the head of the central leading group of China's COVID-19 response.
Wang Huning, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and deputy head of the leading group, also attended the meeting.
Those at the meeting issued instructions to scientifically control and prevent the COVID-19 epidemic according to the latest situations, precisely avoid imported and exported cases, and do a good follow-up job of epidemic control and prevention.
The overall situation of the epidemic control and prevention is improving and the spread and dissemination of the epidemic are basically under control, those at the meeting said. Wuhan city and Hubei province should concentrate medical experts and resources to further optimize the treatment for critically ill patients to lower mortality, while other regions should prevent possible spreading or gathering cases.
China should precisely enhance the epidemic's import and export control and prevention when some imported cases from abroad have brought uncertainty to the ending of the epidemic in China. China should strengthen communication, cooperation and coordination with related countries in fields such as public health, customs, migration and education to jointly implement epidemic control and prevention guidance for travelers.
Also, the case report system for individuals, local residents, traveler recipients and families should be carried out strictly. Related reminders must be given to domestic outbound travellers. International cooperation on diagnosis and treatment scheme and medicines should be enhanced.
According to those at the meeting, a differentiated approach should continue in future epidemic prevention and control work, with a focus on aiding key groups, restoring normal social order, and helping enterprises resume operations.
Subsidies should be paid in full and on time to frontline medical personnel, community workers, police officers and volunteers contributing to the virus fight.
Construction workers having participated in building and renovating facilities for epidemic control and patient treatment should be able to receive their payments on time.
Orderly movement of people was required, including sending people stranded in Hubei and Wuhan back to their hometowns, or vice versa, and evacuating medical workers from Hubei on condition that critical COVID-19 patients are well cared for and normal medical service in the province has resumed.
Those at the meeting pressed for the return of houses, transportation tools and relevant equipment temporarily expropriated for anti-epidemic purposes and proper compensation for such expropriation.
To safeguard employees' rights, the group encouraged enterprises to negotiate over pay adjustment, shortened working hours and rotating schedules with those who are quarantined as required. Related departments should intensify efforts in helping migrant workers find jobs, especially those with financial difficulties and from Hubei.
Those at the meeting also urged local governments to take up their due responsibilities for handling the aftermath of diseases and deaths arising from the epidemic.
As most provinces have lowered their emergency response level to COVID-19, they should enhance cross-regional coordination to speed up work resumption on the back of improved epidemic prevention and control measures.
Places without new cases for days should prepare for full work and production resumption by allowing more population flows, arranging appropriate return dates, and ensuring workplace protection.
Ding Xuexiang, Huang Kunming, Cai Qi, Wang Yi, Xiao Jie and Zhao Kezhi, members of the leading group, also attended the meeting.
