The Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council held a press conference on Wednesday to introduce the prevention and control of the epidemic situation in key venues, units, and key populations.

Shi Xiaoming, director of the National Institute for Environmental Health and Related Product Safety of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said at the press conference that the key is to control the number of people who are gathering and to reduce the size of the gathering or close conversations.

"For entertainment or leisure venues such as movie theaters or game centers, it is recommended that they are closed for the time being, including large-scale sports events or exhibitions," said Shi.

Shi Xiaoming also proposed to focus on several types of places, units, and people.

The first is the sites with a high risk of infection, such as the hospitals where COVID-19 patients are treated, the transport vehicles for returnees from abroad, or customs and land border ports, Shi pointed out.

The second is where people gather, including airplanes, high-speed trains, buses, and other means of transportation. Also, large sports activities, gathering places among friends need to be focused.

Besides, a few in-room or crowded spaces, for instance, the movie theater, the elevator also need to be taken seriously.

Some people who are highly mobile or are not easy to monitor, such as cleaning staff, may work in different places and need to be further protected.

There are also special places, such as nursing homes, welfare homes, and mental health care establishments, that need closer monitoring.

(Cover image from VCG)