China on Monday released lists of infectious diseases for which border quarantine and prevention measures are authorised in a bid to promptly curb their spread, according to a notice jointly released by the National Administration of Disease Control and Prevention and the General Administration of Customs.
The catalogue of diseases that are subject to border quarantine includes plague, cholera, yellow fever, Ebola, and seven other highly contagious and potentially lethal illnesses. Local customs will be authorised to take on-site prevention measures on confirmed or suspected patients and informed local disease control and prevention authorities to transfer patients to designated hospitals for isolation, treatment, or medical observation.
The list of diseases that will be closely monitored is comprised of 26 illnesses, including the COVID-19 virus, HIV/AIDS, measles, and mpox. Local customs will remind incoming travellers suspected of contracting the disease to visit hospitals for screening, and local hospitals will prioritise attending to their medical needs.
The two disease catalogues, which will take effect on Wednesday, have been released following a new amendment to the Law on Frontier Health and Quarantine that passed in late June. It requires the formulation of lists to help identify infections among cross-border travellers, deliver necessary medical services, and implement control measures.
"Carrying out surveillance of key contagious diseases early at ports of entry will be instrumental in detecting and cutting cross-border transmission of epidemics," said the National Administration of Disease Control and Administration in a statement released on Monday.
The administration stressed that the range of listed diseases is defined in a way to strike a balance between ensuring effective disease prevention and guaranteeing convenience of customs clearance.
"Except for thermal scanning, medical patrols, and other noninvasive action, additional measures such as epidemiological investigations will only be rolled out among the very few who exhibit abnormal symptoms rather than among all travellers," the administration said.
It added that customs officials have worked to upgrade quarantine procedures and research and deploy smart quarantine tools to improve work efficiency.
The administration said that authorities of customs, disease control, and health will continue to improve their communication and cooperation mechanisms, strengthen information sharing of infections at ports of entry, as well as step up training of public health and medical professionals.
Efforts will also be made to coordinate quarantine measures at ports of entry, medical screening and inspections on the domestic soil and the implementation of isolation and treatment so as to ensure that patients can receive timely treatment and bar the spread of pathogens.
The administration also reminds cross-border travellers to report health conditions to customs when experiencing suspicious symptoms such as fever, coughing and breathing difficulties, or being diagnosed with such illnesses.
Source:https://www.ecns.cn/news/society/2024-12-31/detail-ihemmuxf3069643.shtml
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