Prevention and control of the COVID-19 virus is our common responsibility. Every resident is responsible for their health and has an obligation to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus together.

According to the current situation in Guangzhou, inbound travelers who came to Guangzhou recently should pay special attention to the latest policies and measures related to COVID-19: wear personal protection equipment properly before visiting public places; scan the health code before entering enclosed or semi-enclosed venues; answer the calls from "+86-20-12320" and read the text messages from the municipal COVID-19 prevention office in time and follow their instructions.

The elderly and people with underlying diseases are at high risk of serious illness and death after being infected with the COVID-19 virus. They will benefit the most from vaccinations and should be vaccinated as soon as possible if they are eligible.

Requirements for the inbound travelers: If you have a "*" on your travel card, you need to take three tests within seven days.

Travelers who arrived in Guangzhou recently should observe the relevant policies, including taking a nucleic acid test as soon as they arrive in Guangzhou, monitoring their health conditions for three days, avoiding going to places other than their residences and workplaces and taking another test within three days after arrival. Those who have a "*" on their travel card need to take three tests within seven days after arrival. During this period, they should reduce social activities as much as possible and try to avoid gatherings and unnecessary travel.

The inbound travelers who have recently visited provinces (autonomously administrative regions or municipalities directly under the Central Government) with middle or high-risk areas or areas with positive infections must report to their communities (villages) or neighborhoods and employers or hotels within 12 hours and take health management measures in accordance with the latest epidemic prevention policies.

Latest policies on COVID-19 prevention, control in Guangzhou

Travelers who come from high-risk areas should be quarantined in centralized facilities for 14 days and receive nucleic acid tests on the 1st, 4th, 7th, 10th, and 14th days.

Travelers who come from the counties or districts where there is a high-risk or middle-risk area should be quarantined at home for 14 days and receive nucleic acid tests on the 1st, 4th, 7th, 10th, and 14th days.

Travelers who come from the cities where there are areas with positive infections or confirmed cases should conduct three-day home health monitoring and should continue to monitor their health conditions for another 11 days. They should receive nucleic acid tests on the 1st, 3rd, and 14th days.

Travelers who come from provinces (autonomously administrative regions or municipalities directly under the central government) where there are positive infections should take a nucleic acid test at the airport or train station upon arrival or other convenient places within 24 hours after arrival and monitor their health conditions for 14 days.

Travelers who come from other provinces where there are no infections should take a nucleic acid test within 48 hours after the arrival.

People should wear a mask and scan Health Codes before entering enclosed or crowded venues.

Wearing a mask, maintaining proper social distances, covering the mouth and nose while sneezing and coughing, washing hands, and opening the window are all things that should be remembered in daily life. When we experience symptoms such as nasal or throat irritation, coughing, sneezing, or fever, we should visit a local fever clinic and undergo a nucleic acid test while wearing adequate personal protection. We should wear a mask properly before entering public places. We need to scan the health pass registration code and present the big data communication travel card before entering crowded places, such as wholesale markets, meat and vegetable markets, shopping malls, supermarkets, schools, scenic areas, museums, restaurants, hotels, and government service halls, etc., and enclosed or semi-enclosed venues, such as Internet cafes, entertainment venues (KTV, dance halls, amusement halls), cinemas, theaters, libraries, chess, and poker rooms, escape rooms, foot massage clinics, bathing centers, and other indoor attractions.

"Presenting" and "scanning" the code are both epidemic prevention and control measures, but they play different roles.

What we present before entering a public place is the health code, which tags code holders with three different colors (red, yellow, and green) based on whether they are at risk of infection. It enables the relevant workers to know clearly whether a person is at risk and what measures to take accordingly.

What we scan before entering a public place is the health pass registration code. If a suspected case is found to have visited this place, the epidemic control authorities will be able to find the other visitors who have been in this place at the same time according to the registration records. They will be able to find the close contacts, sub-close contacts, and other key populations as soon as possible and take measures accordingly.

Elderly and people with underlying diseases will benefit the most from vaccinations.

Given the serious situation of COVID-19 lately and the fact that the elderly over 60 years old are prone to serious illness, it is very necessary for them to get vaccinated!

At the press briefing of the State Council Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism conducted on March 15, many experts said that since the elderly have reduced immunity and are more likely to have underlying diseases, they are at high risk of serious illness after being infected with COVID-19. They call on the elderly to actively get vaccinated.

Jiao Yahui, director of the Medical Administration Bureau, National Health Commission, said that the elderly, especially those with underlying diseases, are at a very high risk of serious illness. "According to current statistics, about 65 percent of the patients with serious symptoms are above 60 years old. And 80 percent of the seriously ill over 60 years old have underlying diseases, and 65 percent of those seriously ill elderly are not vaccinated."

"Vaccination and effective personal protection are important in the prevention and control of COVID-19," said Lei Zhenglong, deputy director of the Disease Control Bureau, National Health Commission. "During recent outbreaks, we found that the elderly accounted for a certain share of the infections. The vaccine is very effective in preventing serious illness and death, especially among the elderly and people with underlying diseases. These people are prone to serious illnesses or even death after infection. They will benefit the most from vaccination." He called on the public to encourage the elderly around them to get vaccinated in time. If they get vaccinated, they not only contribute to the epidemic prevention and control efforts but also allow their family and themselves to be reassured and enjoy a healthy life together.

"The elderly are a very vulnerable group. Their immunity is declining as they age and they are likely to have many underlying diseases. It means that they are the most vulnerable victims of all infectious diseases. This is also the case in the past two years since the onset of COVID-19. If they are not vaccinated or not fully vaccinated, they stand a rather high chance of death or serious illness," said Wang Huaqing, the chief expert on immunization planning at the CDC. He said that since the end of last year, the prevalence of the Omicron variant has posed a greater danger to the elderly. In some countries and regions, the rates of death and serious illness among the elderly who have not been vaccinated or fully vaccinated have exceeded the highest level in history. That's why we can't treat COVID-19 as common flu. We must be on alert and do our best to prevent and control the disease. "We call on the elderly who have not been vaccinated or fully vaccinated to get vaccinated as soon as possible. In addition, according to the regulations, those who are fully vaccinated should get a booster vaccination in time if they are eligible," Wang said. Experts also stressed that the elderly should wear proper personal protection and try not to go to crowded places.

People must answer phone calls from "+86-20-12320" and observe the guidelines during home health monitoring.

At the press conference of Guangzhou's COVID-19 update on March 16, Chen Bin, deputy director-general and spokesman of Guangzhou municipal health Commission, reminded the public to pay close attention to the information releases and policy adjustments of the relevant government departments. At present, the epidemiological investigation is still going on, which will affect the scope of close contacts, secondary contacts, key places, people with "yellow code", screening and control areas, etc. in real-time.

During this period, residents are advised to keep their cellphones on and pay close attention to the latest prevention and control policies and notification reminders issued by the health and disease control authorities, especially the calls from "12320", which is the designated number for screening the people at risk of infection, and the text messages from the "Guangzhou COVID-19 Prevention and Control Commanding Office". If you miss a call, please call back in time and follow the health management measures according to the instructions. If you find a temporal and spatial overlap between your activity tracking and that of a confirmed case, please report to the relevant authorities immediately.

Residents should always pay attention to their health code status. Once their code turns yellow, they should report to their community, employer, or hotel immediately. Those with a yellow code should implement home health monitoring measures strictly and take three nucleic acid tests at the points designated for people with a "yellow code" within seven days with proper self-protection.

According to the requirements, residents need to observe the following guidelines while conducting home health monitoring.

Monitor your health conditions closely. Take your temperatures on a daily basis and take nucleic acid tests as required.

Avoid leaving home if it's unnecessary, and wear a mask properly if you have to go out.

In principle, you should refrain from going to work or school, entering enclosed public places, or attending group activities such as gatherings.

Go to the designated hospitals in time if you have suspicious symptoms such as a fever, coughing, or a reduced sense of smell or taste. Cohabitants are free to go out during this period.

Inbound travelers who do not have a permanent residence can conduct health monitoring in centralized quarantine facilities or well-ventilated places without centralized air conditioning. If people show acute symptoms, they need to receive treatment in the designated hospitals.