Entrusted by Vice-Premier Sun Chunlan, Ma Xiaowei, minister of the National Health Commission (NHC), inspected and guided the response of North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region to the latest outbreak of COVID-19 from Oct 25 to 26.

Upon his arrival on the afternoon of Oct 25 in Ejine Banner, a hard-hit area in the autonomous region in the newest wave of the novel coronavirus disease, Ma attended a conference with local officials and listened to their report about the region's overall measures to contain the virus.

In his speech, Ma stressed that Ejine should have a clear understanding of the urgency and complexity of the latest outbreak of COVID-19, implement the requirements of the latest press conference of the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council, put the prevention and control of the virus on top of their agenda, and win the battle of containing the spread of COVID-19.

Ma urged Ejine to further strengthen its COVID-19 prevention and control measures, get the spread of the novel coronavirus under control at an early date, ensure a smooth connection among nucleic acid testing, epidemiological investigation, the transportation and quarantine of confirmed and suspected cases, and the implementation of strict controls in residential communities, do the utmost to help all confirmed cases receive medical treatment and prevent the occurrence of the virus in hospitals, and guide the public to observe personal protective measures in daily life.

Meanwhile, Ejine should resolutely prevent risks and hidden dangers, strengthen the overall coordination of medical supplies and other resources, properly handle accommodations for tourists stranded by the outbreak of COVID-19 and the transportation of confirmed cases to other places for better medical treatment, cut off the transmission of the virus from other countries, prevent the occurrence of imported infections by strengthening the management of personnel, goods and working environment in major ports, and mobilize local officials to join others on the frontline of the anti-COVID battle.

During a visit to local accommodation sites for stranded tourists on the morning of Oct 26, Ma learned about their access to basic life necessities, medicine and nucleic acid testing, and instructed the local government to meet their needs for food, accommodation and medicine, provide them with necessary psychological counseling services and arrange for those eligible according to relevant medical standards to return to their hometowns as soon as possible.

On the same afternoon, Ma met with a working group of the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council in the autonomous region. After hearing a briefing on the latest progress of Ejine's response to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease, he joined members of the working group to analyze and assess developments related to the virus, deliberate and carry out measures such as nucleic acid testing and epidemiological investigations, and draft plans to help stranded tourists return to their hometowns safely and prevent the occurrence of new infections in the process.

Moreover, he called on the working group to work closely with the local government in a concerted effort to contain the spread of COVID-19 and minimize the negative impact brought by the virus to local socioeconomic development.

Those in attendance during Ma's inspection tour included Wang Lixia, chairwoman of Inner Mongolia, Ouyang Xiaohui, vice-chairman of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Regional Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Li Bin, head of the working group of the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council in Inner Mongolia and vice-minister of the NHC, Chang Jile and Lu Jiang, deputy heads of the National Administration of Disease Prevention and Control.