China to see simultaneous circulation of infections this winter

China will likely see simultaneous circulations of multiple respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19, influenza and mycoplasma pneumoniae infections, this winter and spring, the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of State Council said in a circular released on Friday.

Authorities said that the risk of a rebound in COVID-19 cases this winter remains, though the current epidemic situation is stable.

They added that cases of influenza and mycoplasma pneumoniae have been on the rise since October. Flu cases are expected to register a peak in the coming months, while mycoplasma pneumoniae cases will continue to spread fast in some regions.

To cope with the increasing infectious respiratory cases, authorities said that they will step up monitoring of key contagious illnesses and strengthen the use of different sources data from online reporting systems, fever clinics, sentinel hospitals and laboratory test results.

Personal protection measures and health monitoring efforts at nursery care and elderly care homes, as well as schools, should be reinforced and vaccination campaigns targeting the elderly, people with preexisting diseases and children should be intensified.

Localities are instructed to allocate medical resources to fit the intensity of regional epidemic situations and strengthen the supply of key medications, especially pediatric drugs.

Epidemic control measures at ports, such as measuring body temperatures of inbound personnel, carrying out epidemiological investigations and medical screenings, should also be strictly implemented, they added.