Spring Festival rural drug supply and epidemic prevention supplies are sufficient? Authoritative response

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With the increased movement of people during the Spring Festival and the increase in the number of people returning home, rural areas are the focus of epidemic prevention and control. What is the situation of the epidemic in rural areas nationwide? How is the treatment situation in urban and rural primary health care institutions? On the 30th, the State Council held a press conference to respond to public concerns about the joint prevention and control mechanism.

The State Council’s joint prevention and control mechanism press conference was held on January 30.

The overall situation of the epidemic in rural areas during the Spring Festival was stable

“The overall national epidemic has now entered a low epidemic level, and the epidemic situation in various regions has maintained a steady decline.” Mi Feng, spokesman for the National Health and Wellness Commission, said that it is important to always keep a close eye on key aspects, do a good job of monitoring the health of key populations, and make every effort to protect the medical and pharmaceutical needs of the public.

Rural areas remain the top priority for the prevention and control of the current epidemic. Mao Dezhi, deputy director of the Rural Cooperative Economic Guidance Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and first-level inspector, said that during the Spring Festival, the epidemic in rural areas was generally stable, and there was no rise in the epidemic.

For the remote mountainous areas, pastoral areas, forest areas, islands, including the “three regions and one island” rural epidemic prevention and control weak links, Mao Dezhi introduced the following four aspects of the focus on prevention and control of the epidemic: First, the implementation of key populations guarantee mechanism, to identify the old, young, sick, disabled, pregnant five types of key populations of basic information, to carry out “The second is to carry out consultation services, to promote the localities to allocate sufficient medical personnel at the rural level, to carry out medical personnel “up the mountain and down the sea” to treat and send medicine to the door; third is to strengthen the stockpile of drugs, to promote the localities in the epidemic prevention drugs and medical equipment distribution Fourth, to do a good job in transferring and referring patients, and to urge and guide the localities to equip ambulances for medical and health institutions in townships.

Stable and orderly treatment in urban and rural primary health care institutions

“In general, during the Spring Festival, medical treatment and epidemic prevention and control in primary health care institutions were smooth and orderly.” Fu Wei, ombudsman of the Department of Primary Health Care of the National Health and Wellness Commission, said that in order to better grasp the operation of primary health care institutions around the country and the epidemic situation, the daily monitoring, daily dispatch and daily reporting system for the treatment of primary institutions is adhered to.

The monitoring data shows that since December 21, 2022, the number of fever clinics and general outpatient and emergency visits in township health centers and community health service centers nationwide has generally shown a trend of first increasing and then decreasing, and is now falling steadily. 27 January 2023, the number of general outpatient and emergency visits in grassroots institutions was 2.036 million, a decrease of nearly 30% compared to the pre-holiday period.

A doctor at the fever clinic of Zhenxiong County People’s Hospital in Yunnan Province carries out rescue and treatment work on Dec. 29, 2022.

Primary health care institutions are the first line of defense for epidemic prevention and control and medical treatment. According to reports, as of the end of 2022, the country’s township health centers and community health service centers have realized the fever clinic “should be set up as much as possible, should be opened as much as possible”. During the Spring Festival, fever clinics across the country were open 24 hours a day and operated normally, providing timely symptomatic treatment for light patients and early identification and referral of seriously ill patients.

Primary health care institutions continue to improve the drug supply situation

Before the Spring Festival, the State Council joint prevention and control mechanism, the Central Rural Work Leading Group issued the “strengthen the current prevention and control of new coronavirus infection in rural areas work program”, requiring the protection of supplies in rural areas reserves and supplies. In this regard, Fu Wei introduced, “We adhere to the daily monitoring and dispatching, dynamic grasp of township health centers and community health service centers with drugs, material reserves and use of the situation, the provinces with timely notification and supervision.”

Monitoring data show that since January 2023, the national township health centers and community health service centers continue to improve the drug equipping situation. Currently, more than 94% of urban and rural primary health care institutions are equipped with three types of drugs, namely Chinese medicine, antipyretic and cough, available for more than one week, and more than 85% of primary institutions have reached a reserve of more than two weeks, and some township health centers and community health service centers are also equipped with small molecule antiviral drugs. As of January 27, 2023, a total of 2,894,000 finger oxygen meters and 219,000 oxygen machines were equipped in primary medical and health institutions nationwide.