China intensifies hospital-acquired COVID-19 infection control

A medical worker takes a swab sample from a woman for COVID-19 nucleic acid testing in Zhangjiajie, central China's Hunan Province, Aug. 10, 2021. (Xinhua/Chen Sihan)

BEIJING, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- China has stepped up efforts to prevent COVID-19 infections at hospitals as the country is reining in a resurgence of locally transmitted cases.

Vigorous measures should be taken to contain infections at hospitals designated for treating COVID-19 cases, said a guideline released by the State Council inter-agency task force for COVID-19 response.

All COVID-19 cases, both imported and locally acquired, as well as asymptomatic carriers, should be hospitalized in isolation wards in designated hospitals and kept separate from patients with other diseases, the document said.

Staff working at isolation wards are required to be fully vaccinated before entering their workplace, it said, adding that closed-off management should be practiced among the staff.