Latest developments in epidemic control on April 3 (1)

Here are the latest developments on the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in China:

— Chinese health authority said on April 2 that no new domestically transmitted cases of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) were reported on the Chinese mainland on April 1.

The National Health Commission (NHC) received reports of 35 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases on the Chinese mainland on April 1, all of which were imported.

Also on April 1, six deaths, all in Hubei province, and 20 new suspected cases, all imported ones, were reported on the mainland, according to the commission.

— A total of 170 COVID-19 patients were discharged from hospital after recovery on April 1 on the Chinese mainland, according to the NHC.

Altogether 76,408 patients had been discharged from hospital after recovery by the end of April 1, the commission said in its daily report on April 2.

As of April 1, a total of 81,589 confirmed cases of the COVID-19 had been reported on the mainland, and 3,318 people had died of the disease.

— Vice-Minister of Education Tian Xuejun said on April 2 that the ministry has taken all-out efforts to safeguard the health and safety of overseas Chinese students amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

A prevention and control guideline on COVID-19 was compiled for the students, and multiple lectures by renowned experts have also been held to offer more guidance on epidemic prevention, Tian said at a press conference.

— China will further support small and micro businesses as well as agricultural and rural entities in financing and credit enhancement with government guarantee to tide them over the tough time.

Government-controlled financing guarantee and re-guarantee entities should offer more such services to small and micro enterprises as well as agricultural and rural entities, and coordinate with financial institutions to solve small and micro firms' problems in financing, according to a circular issued by the Ministry of Finance.

— East China's Hangzhou city debuted a new international cargo air route from Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang province, to Kuala Lumpur, capital of Malaysia.

The new flight, which took off on March 31, carried medical supplies donated by the Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Foundation, and packages from online stores mainly consisting of supplies such as garments and face masks.

— Medical supplies worth of 434,000 yuan (about $61,000) were sent to Mongolia via the port in Erenhot, northern China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

The medical supplies, donated by the region to Mongolia, include 85,000 disposable masks, 20,000 surgical masks, 1,000 items of protective clothing and 1,015 bottles of disinfectant, the Erenhot customs said.

— Fourteen people who died on the frontline of fighting the novel coronavirus in Central China's Hubei province, have been identified as the first batch of martyrs.

The 14 martyrs were Wang Bing, Feng Xiaolin, Jiang Xueqing, Liu Zhiming, Li Wenliang, Zhang Kangmei, Xiao Jun, Wu Yong, Liu Fan, Xia Sisi, Huang Wenjun, Mei Zhongming, Peng Yinhua and Liao Jianjun. They were described as excellent representatives of role models among frontline medics and epidemic prevention workers.

— China will seek further opening-up and upgrade of foreign trade and investment, the hardest-hit sectors amid the global pandemic of COVID-19, to offset its economic shock.

— China said it is irresponsible for some media to hype up the so-called quality problems of Chinese anti-epidemic products before making clear the facts.

— China will step up targeted screening of people infected with the novel coronavirus but showing no symptoms.

— China is distributing 500,000 health kits, including face masks and disinfection supplies, to Chinese students studying abroad.