Notice for tightening COVID-19 pandemic control, prevention measures (No 25)

Currently, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread overseas, and local clusters of infections have appeared in many provinces and cities in China. As the virus continues to mutate, our efforts to prevent both inbound cases and domestic resurgences are faced with daunting challenges. In order to improve the control and prevention work and protect the health and safety of the public, tighter control and prevention measures will be enforced as follows:

1. Strengthen personal protection. Citizens are asked to continue to strengthen their awareness of personal protection, and assume primary responsibility for their own health. Best practices such as wearing masks, washing hands frequently, maintaining good ventilation, using public serving utensils, reducing gatherings, and consciously keeping a safe social distance should continue to be enforced. Citizens should take the initiative to conduct self-health monitoring. When symptoms such as fever, dry cough, fatigue, decreased sense of smell and taste, nasal congestion, runny nose, sore throat, conjunctivitis, myalgia, or diarrhea occur, you should avoid taking public transportation and immediately go to the nearest medical institutions that have fever clinics (treatment rooms). Also, be sure to disclose an honest epidemiological history to health professionals, and cooperate with the nucleic acid testing procedures. People are also urged to actively follow control and prevention requirements such as temperature measurement and displaying health codes when visiting or entering designated places. Do not leave your current province for non-essential reasons, and avoid going to medium- and high-risk areas or areas in lockdown or partial lockdown areas. Eligible individuals should get vaccinated to build a herd immunity barrier.

2. Tighten measures to prevent inbound cases. We will continue to strictly enforce the national and provincial control and prevention policies. Closed-loop management of inbound personnel will continue to be in operation. Personnel entering China from ports in Guangzhou should cooperate with measures such as inspection at the port, closed-loop transport to facilities, centralized quarantine, release of quarantine, and community health monitoring management. Personnel working in places that pose high-risk positions such as ports should live in a centralized residence and only travel between their workplace and residence. Imported goods must be thoroughly inspected and disinfected.

3. Tighten community control and prevention measures. Citizens who have in the past 14 days traveled to or returned from medium- and high-risk areas, areas in lockdown or in partial lockdown areas or cities where the above areas are located (hereinafter referred to as key areas), and those whose health code is not "green,” should immediately report to their employers, property management staff, hotels, or community (village). Also, individuals are encouraged to actively cooperate with the community "three-person team" to carry out investigations, nucleic acid testing, quarantine or health monitoring and other measures. Those who have traveled to or returned from key areas outside the province in the past 14 days should take the initiative to take a nucleic acid test as soon as possible.

4. Tighten the control and prevention measures in key areas. Tourist attractions, restaurants, shopping malls, supermarkets, cinemas, elderly care institutions, maternal and child service institutions, and other enclosed places that are likely to draw crowds, must strictly implement measures including temperature measurement, health code checks, and visitors must wear masks at all times. The number of visitors should be controlled in such areas, and businesses clean regularly, and ensure ventilation and disinfection. Staff health management are located at designated medical facilities to promote control and prevention knowledge, and people should pay electronically when paying for medical care.

5. Tighten the control and prevention measures of transport hubs. Highways, railways, airports, ports and dock management entities should divert people from gathering in these areas, and carefully check passenger information. Citizens taking subways or buses must take temperature measurements, display codes, and wear masks. At Baiyun Airport and railway stations including Guangzhou Station, Guangzhou East Station, Guangzhou South Station, Guangzhou North Station, Shengqing Station and Xintang Station, passengers taking taxis or online car-hailing services from these hubs must show their codes and wear masks. People who are not "green code" holders are not allowed to take public transportation. Staff should also enforce personal protection.

6. Identify control and prevention responsibilities. Party and government agencies, and enterprises and institutions at all levels should notify relevant authorities when leaving the province. Employees should not leave the province for non-essential reasons. Employee's health monitoring is mandatory. Employees and their families should report to their employers or the community when returning from other provinces to Guangzhou. Personnel entry and exit registration should be carried out to reduce gatherings. Schools of all levels and types (including kindergartens) should make early plans for teachers and students' returning to school, and training institutions should strictly implement epidemic control and prevention measures. Large-scale events should not be hosted for non-essential reasons, and if they must be held, then whoever hosts the event assumes the primary responsibility. A control and prevention emergency response plan shall be formulated before the event, and large-scale events attracting people from other cities shall be suspended or postponed. Medical clinics and pharmacies should serve as sentinel sites and medical institutions at all levels must prevent infections at hospitals. All types of travel agencies should suspend organizing tours to other provinces or receiving tours from other provinces from today. Persons who have travelled to medium- and high-risk areas, areas in lockdown or partial lockdown areas, and other epidemic-related areas within the past 14 days are not allowed to sign up for intra-provincial tours and intra-city tours.

The above control and prevention measures are adjusted on an on-going basis according to risk assessments. This notice will be implemented from the time it is issued.

Guangzhou COVID-19 Control and Prevention Command Center

Aug 8, 2021