On May 8th, the Ministry of Transport issued the Guidelines on the Regular Prevention and Control of the COVID-19 Epidemic in Transportation Industry. (hereinafter the Guidelines). While continuing to implement routine COVID-19 control, how to prevent and control the epidemic in the transportation industry and what exact measures are needed? We invited Li Guoping, the director of the emergency office from the Ministry of Transport, to interpret the Guidelines.
1. What’s the background to the issuance of the Guidelines?
Li Guoping: Recently, with the permission from the Central Leading Group for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council issued the Guidelines on the Regular Prevention and Control of the COVID-19 Epidemic In order to implement the guidelines thoroughly, consolidate the achievement in epidemic prevention and control in transportation industry and promote resumption of work and production, the Ministry of Transport formulated and issued the guidelines in transportation industry.
2. What kind of prevention and control principles are put forward in the Guidelines?
Li Guoping: The prevention and control principles in the Guidelines adhere to science-and-law-based prevention. Among these principles, four key points are followed.
The first one is to enhance the awareness of prevention and take protection measures. Health education towards transportation service staff and civilians should be strengthened, including washing hands regularly, one meter spacing in line, and wearing masks properly. What's more, public transport operators, taxi drivers and transport station attendants should wear masks to ensure personal protection and reduce close contact with other people.
The second one is to promote collaboration between different sectors and urge the crowds to travel orderly. Temperature monitoring in all means of transportation, such as railway, highway, waterway, civil aviation, and urban rail transit, should be strictly implemented. Those who find abnormal body temperature should report in time, take measures for further inspection and cooperate with medical personnel for the follow-up treatment. Based on health QR code, safe and orderly flow of civilians is boosted. With this code, civilians can travel across the country. With the measures of early discovery, early reporting, early quarantine and early treatment, we can find and respond timely, take targeted prevention and control measures, and provide them with efficient treatment.
The third one is to take region-specific, multi-level targeted approach to epidemic prevention and control to speed up the resumption of work and production. To achieve that goal, transportation enterprises and institutions should take the responsibilities in epidemic prevention and control and value the health of employees. Moreover, on the premise of taking regular epidemic prevention and control measures, resumption of work and production in key transportation field should be accelerated. So indoor ventilation, daily cleaning and disinfection measures should be implemented strictly and thoroughly in station terminal, public transportation, office building, logistics park and vehicle repair yard, leaving no areas unattended and no hidden dangers unaddressed.
The final one is to expand the test range and realize targeted prevention and control. Ensure personal protection in transportation front-line staff, especially those working at ports. The medical team, the front-line staff who work in port quarantine inspection, new (or returning) staff, teacher and other groups should be tested completely. In addition, psychological counseling and assistance should be carried out as well.
3. During the control of COVID-19, complexities are common occurrences in transportation industry. What are the key points that have been highlighted in the Guidelines?
Li Guoping: The Guidelines put forward prevention and control measures from seven aspects: road transport, urban traffic and means of transport, expressway service area and toll station, ships and ports, crews of domestic sailing ships, construction project of highway and waterway, the availability of highway and waterway, and relevant organizations. The Guidelines require that the National Railway Administration, Civil Aviation Administration of China and State Post Bureau should take strict and regular COVID-19 prevention and control measures according to their own features.
4. According to the Guidelines, what measures should we insist on or what other measures shall we take? How will transport authorities at all levels carry out their work?
Li Guoping: The Guidelines require that the competent transportation departments at all levels should guide relevant personnel of road passenger transport and urban transportation to seriously implement the requirements of the region-specific, multi-level targeted approach to the prevention and control of the COVID-19 epidemicin disinfection, ventilation, passenger load control and areas for temporary observation in vehicles etc.
Transportation authorities at all levels should urge ports and shipping enterprises to continue to control the passenger load and set up area for temporary quarantineon board. For passengers who can’t get on board due to the fever, refunding procedures should be free of charge. The cruise routes of the Yangtze river trunk line and Hainan Xisha area will still be suspended in the near future.
The Guidelines instruct transportation authorities and maritime administrative agencies at all levels to set up a targeted and practical epidemic prevention and control system , in accordance with the guidelines for the prevention and control of the COVID-19 epidemic, different types of ships and sailing area.
The Guidelines also require that on the premise of controlling the epidemic, local transportation authorities at all levels should strictly implement the principle of “one break, three continuance”, namely preserve the highway traffic network, green channels for emergency transport and supply transport channels for civilians. Highway, waterway and foreign trade transportation channels should also be kept in order. The relevant departments should urge the companies of highway and waterway engineering projects to assume primary responsibilities and organize construction procedure scientifically according to the local epidemic prevention and control requirements. On the premise of epidemic control, the design examination and bidding filing of key national highway and water transportation and support system of subordinate organization will be accelerated. To achieve this goal, priority will be given to online bidding and remote bid opening. What's more, the government should strengthen the supervision over the quality and safety of construction projects and strictly hold the safety bottom line.
5.How to strengthen the organizational leadership and ensure that the Guidelines have been implemented adequately?
Li Guoping: Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, CPC organizations at all levels in transportation industry have studied and implemented the instruction spirit of president Xi Jinping in depth, carrying out strict prevention and control measures against the epidemic. With the Party flag as the fortress, Party leader as the flagship and Party members as the vanguard, the CPC at all levels and its members dedicate themselves on the front line of the battlefield against the epidemic, which makes great contribution to the prevention and control of the epidemic and economic development.
The Guidelines stressed that the fortress, flagship and vanguard shall not only forge ahead in the war against the epidemic but also foster political awareness and responsibility and make unremitting efforts to the regular prevention and control of the epidemic.
The Guidelines demand that all the organizations must report the detail of the local epidemic situation instead of concealing. Local government and supervision department are supposed to take their responsibilities to inspect the implementation of the regular prevention and control of the local companies based on their daily work. What's more, epidemic prevention and control plans and supporting plans should be improved. Relevant companies should carry out daily trainings and drills to ensure the emergency response being timely and effective when cases happen. With the selection of models such as Transport People of the Year and the most Beautiful Transport People, importance should be attached to the devoted groups and individuals among the grassroots workers in the frontline of fighting against the epidemic and show the spirit of the transport personnel to the media and the public.