Chinese vice premier urges stringent steps to curb COVID-19 spread in Jilin

CHANGCHUN, March 25 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Sun Chunlan on Friday demanded stringent measures, including mass nucleic acid testing and thorough contact tracing, to contain the spread of COVID-19 in northeast China's Jilin Province.

Sun, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks while addressing a meeting on COVID-19 prevention and control in the city of Jilin.

Highlighting the complex, arduous and enduring nature of COVID-19 control work in Jilin, Sun said a raft of comprehensive measures should be taken in the next three to five days to ensure at-risk groups are identified and placed in isolation so as to curb the community spread of COVID-19.

Over the past few days, the vice premier inspected communities, hospitals, nursing homes, nucleic acid sampling sites and testing facilities.

Sun urged a more swift response to adapt to the transmission of Omicron variants.

Work is needed to guarantee the supply of daily necessities and meet the people's needs for medications and medical treatment, she said.

High-quality screening should be conducted on a daily basis, and all those who test positive should be sent immediately to designated or temporary hospitals, Sun said.