Shortcomings are identified, tackled by govt officials in plan to bolster hospitals

In mid-May, Beijing rolled out a slew of measures as part of a plan to strengthen public health emergency management in the capital.

The measures cover six areas, which include optimizing the disease prevention and control system; improving healthcare; revising related laws and regulations; and forming an excellent leadership team, said Lu Yan, vice-mayor of Beijing.

"They not only ensure the epidemic prevention and control work is carried out effectively but help resume production and provide strong support to our goal of building a world-class livable city," he added.

The city government is giving top priority to creating a disease prevention system in the plan, proposing to establish standardized centers for disease control in districts across the city.

Besides high-end medical facilities, these centers will have a quality workforce of professionals whose performance will be reviewed regularly.

As early detection and reporting are key to curbing the spread of an epidemic, it is not good enough to depend on large medical institutions for extensive screening, said Lin Xiangyang, deputy secretary-general of the city government.

"We will also make efforts at the community level, enabling communities to become 'guardians' for residents' health," Lin said.

The capital will build and update 267 community health service centers and set up temperature checkpoints in all districts and towns, according to the plan.

Lu addressed issues concerning the capital's response to public health emergencies, reflected in the fight against COVID-19.

He said Beijing had just 290 negative pressure wards, much fewer than those of Guangdong and Shanghai. Many hospitals lack separate wards for patients with infectious diseases and their fever clinics failed to meet standards.

For the next step, the local government will pour investment into the construction of wards and the improvement of facilities. Medical resources from the military and central and local governments will be integrated to establish a flexible network for epidemic treatment, according to the plan.

Another problem is the shortage of emergency supplies. In the early days of the outbreak, Beijing had no production capacity for masks and protective clothing.

While applying for distribution, the city government mobilized local enterprises to churn out proprietary epidemic prevention materials.

The capital's daily output of masks and protective clothing has now reached 12 million and 30,000 units respectively.

"We have not only satisfied demand from Beijing but also made shipments to other Chinese regions and even abroad," Lu said.

Some production lines, which were built amid the outbreak, will be reserved to form a complete industrial chain of emergency supplies in Beijing. The city will step up its cooperation with Tianjin and Hebei province to develop a coordinated mechanism for the production of supplies, according to the plan.

Beijing is also set to construct an emergency backup base for materials' storage, management and allocation, said Tan Xuxiang, director of the Beijing Commission of Development and Reform.

Considering technology, such as big data-based screening, played a vital role in spotting suspected cases, Beijing will continue to push forward the application of new technologies in epidemic prevention and control.

Enterprises in Zhongguancun Science Park, the capital's innovation center, are being called upon to ramp up their efforts in the research and development of disease identification and treatment.

The city government will also give greater support to the emerging industry of Internet Plus healthcare, which refers to diverse online medical services such as remote diagnosis and online consultation.

Workers produce surgical masks at Beijing Biosis Healing Biological Technology. JU HUANZONG/XINHUA