China to stick with strict containment measures, says national health body

China will continue to enforce strict COVID-19 epidemic control measures while sticking to the target of eradicating all cases whenever an outbreak occurs, Mi Feng, spokesperson of the National Health Commission, said on Saturday.

The new round of COVID-19 outbreaks has affected 21 provincial-level regions, Mi said at a news conference.

With lower temperatures during winter and spring leading to higher risks of infection, the country will stick to the epidemic containment measures of early detection, swift management, targeted control and effective treatment to make sure there will not be large-scale imported cases and local flare-ups, he said.

The country will also push for the COVID-19 vaccination efforts, he said, adding that more than 2.37 billion doses of vaccines have been administered by Friday with more than 1.07 billion people completing vaccination.

China aims to complete the COVID-19 vaccination for children aged 3 to 11 by the end of this year, said Wu Liangyou, deputy director of the commission's disease prevention and control bureau.

More than 84.39 million children between the ages of 3 and 11 have received the vaccine, among which 49.44 million have received booster shots, he said.

Wang Dengfeng, an official at the Ministry of Education, said more than 95 percent of students aged over 18 have completed the vaccination.

While some schools in places with local outbreak have suspended in-person teaching, there is no need for nationwide online schooling as education authorities have accumulated rich experience in epidemic control over the past two years, he said.

Whether schools should have early winter vacation depends on the epidemic situation and should be decided by local authorities and schools, he added.