3. Launching first-level response to a major public health
emergency in 31 provinces
January 15, the Chinese CDC announced a national-level emergency
response. January 20, the National Health Commission issued the
Guideline for the Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of COVID-19 that
has been updated to the 7th version until recently. COVID-19 was
classified by the commission as a Category B infectious disease but
should be controlled with Category A’s prevention and control methods
under the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Prevention and
Treatment of Infectious Diseases. Since then, number of confirmed cases
in each province has been reported on a daily basis by the National
Health Commission.
By January 29, all Chinese provinces have declared first-level response
to a major public health emergency. The Chinese New Year holiday was
extended; people from high-endemic areas and non-urgent workers were
encouraged to delay their return; public places, commercial markets and
factories were closed; people were asked to restrain their outdoor
activities; traffic between communities and villages were shut down to
prevent unnecessary visits. Furthermore, the most stringent control on
wildlife selling has been implemented, banning all forms of wildlife
trade or transportation.