On January 21, the Ministry of Education (the MOE) issued a notice asking education-related government bodies and educational institutions to take proper preventive and control measures against the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV).

Education-related government bodies are asked to take various measures, including:

1. Launching public health emergency response plans;

2. Providing timely guidance to educational institutions to help them take preventive measures;

3. Giving support to poor, rural and remote areas where medical resources are limited.

Educational institutions are asked to take various measures, including:

1. Tracking the movements of students during the winter vacation;

2. Disseminating medical information and health advice to parents and students through various social media channels (including Weibo, WeChat account and group chat), to heighten their awareness to prevent the spread of the infectious disease, especially during the Spring Festival holiday and at the beginning of the new semester;

3. Canceling unnecessary mass gatherings;

4. Maintaining cleanliness and improving ventilation of the campus, especially the classrooms, dormitories, canteens, gyms, libraries and toilets;

5. Monitoring the state of health of students when they come back to school. Carrying out routine temperature checks on students, and notifying the relevant authorities in a timely manner should a suspected case of infection be detected;

6. Encouraging students and staff to adopt hygienic habits, eat healthily, take regular exercise, and get sufficient sleep.

The MOE also called upon related higher educational institutions to join the government and the academic sector’s efforts to conduct scientific research on the coronavirus-related pneumonia, and encouraged experts in this field to disseminate health information to the general public.