China to improve protection for children in need amid virus outbreak

BEIJING - China will further improve protection for children whose parents or guardians are not around amid the novel coronavirus outbreak. County-level governments across the country are required to locate children in need and set up helplines for child protection, according to a guideline issued by the joint prevention and control mechanism of the State Council on Saturday.

The guideline also asked local health departments, medical institutions, individuals and other organizations to promptly report information of children whose parents or other guardians are unable to perform guardianship duties due to infection or suspected infection, medical quarantine or busy epidemic control work. Temporary assistance or subsistence allowances should be given to children in need and families in a timely manner, the guideline said. It also called for medical institutions to set up green channels for children with infection or suspected infection to receive medical treatment. Local authorities should implement differentiated measures to care for children in need, the guideline said. Meanwhile Beijing converted New China Int’l Exhibition Center into transit center for int’l inbound passengers. The center, divided into different zones according to the destinations of passengers, is used for people showing no fever, cough and other symptoms in the health quarantine at the airport. (Xinhhua)

A passenger registers her information at a receiving point at the New China International Exhibition Center in Beijing, capital of China, March 14, 2020. Beijing has converted the New China International Exhibition Center into a transit center for international inbound passengers. (Photo:Xinhua)