Psychiatric hospitals should tighten screening for new arrivals and limit outdoor activities for patients, according to an official with the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention on March 2.

Suspected cases of novel coronavirus infection should be put on isolation and transferred to designated hospitals to contain the spread of COVID-19 among patients with mental illnesses, Shi Xiaoming, head of the center's Environmental Health Division, told a news conference in Beijing.

For those who cannot be immediately transferred, psychiatric hospitals should put them in a separated area from other patients and seek consultations from qualified facilities, he said.

Mental health facilities should step up communication with facilities capable of testing for novel coronavirus, monitor staff members' health and train them in self-protection, Shi said.

Efforts shall be made to minimize face-to-face consultations for outpatients, shorten the duration for hospitalization and halt family visits for inpatients, he said, adding new patients shall go through a two-week quarantine before being admitted into common wards.