Enhancing the prevention and control of infectious diseases, three departments deploy key infectious disease prevention and control work before and after the Spring Festival holiday.

On February 7, the General Office of the National Health Commission, the Office of the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and the Comprehensive Department of the National Health Commission jointly issued a document to deploy the key infectious disease prevention and control work before and after the 2026 Spring Festival holiday, ensuring that various prevention and control policies and measures are implemented at the local level to ensure the overall stability of the national epidemic situation and to ensure the health and safety of the people during the festival. The Spring Festival holiday will see a significant increase in cross-border and inter-regional movement of people, as well as gatherings and parties, which may further increase the risk of epidemic transmission and spread. The notice requires strengthening the prevention and control of imported infectious diseases, closely monitoring the global epidemic situation of COVID-19, monkeypox, dengue fever, chikungunya fever, malaria, human infection with avian influenza virus, and Nipah virus disease, and making early preparations for prevention and response. It also calls for strengthening epidemiological investigations of newly emerging and sudden infectious disease cases among inbound travelers, identifying sources of infection, intensifying tracing, investigation, and management of close contacts, and preventing the spread of epidemics. The notice specifies that relevant departments should guide childcare institutions and schools to ensure the cleanliness of teaching and living environments and drinking water before the start of the school year; instruct elderly care institutions and social welfare institutions to enhance daily protection and health monitoring; guide transportation hubs, cultural and tourist sites to manage crowd flow, conduct cleaning and disinfection of enclosed spaces, and ensure ventilation; and guide catering establishments, seafood sales operators, etc., to strengthen food hygiene and safety management. Furthermore, it emphasizes the continuous promotion of active flu vaccination for high-risk groups such as children, the elderly, and patients with chronic diseases, and continuously optimizing vaccination services. The notice also calls for strengthening routine immunization in areas with weak immunization coverage, and emergency vaccinations should be targeted in measles outbreak areas. It also emphasizes the integration of traditional Chinese and Western medicine in treatment, increasing the supply of diagnostic and treatment services for key infectious diseases, and meeting the medical and pharmaceutical needs of the people during the Spring Festival holiday.