Latest developments in epidemic control on Feb 7 (1)

BEIJING — China has stepped up efforts to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). Here are the latest developments:

— China has dispatched 12 charter flights to fly more than 1,500 stranded Hubei residents home from overseas following the novel coronavirus outbreak.

— Public security authorities across China have cracked 1,116 fraud cases related to the pneumonia epidemic caused by the novel coronavirus.

— China will make all-out efforts to strengthen the diagnosis of pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus. Local disease control and prevention departments, medical institutions and third-party organizations should speed up the upgrading of laboratories and equip them with facilities needed for diagnosis.

— The renovation of Xiaotangshan Hospital, formerly used to quarantine SARS patients in Beijing, is expected to be completed mid-February, as a precaution in the face of the epidemic outbreak.

— Five children infected with the novel coronavirus have been cured and discharged from a hospital in Wuhan, capital of Central China's Hubei province, on Feb 6.

— No new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection had been reported in Southwest China's Tibet autonomous region by Feb 5 since it reported its first case on Jan 30. Tibet is stepping up efforts to stabilize prices and production of food, energy and medical supplies.

— The Beijing municipal government has announced a series of measures including rental reduction or exemption and financial support for small and medium-sized firms to reduce the impact of the coronavirus epidemic.

— Another 10 novel coronavirus-infected patients including an 80-year-old woman were discharged from hospital in Shanghai on Feb 6.

— All schools in East China's Zhejiang province are required to delay the opening of the 2020 spring semester until the end of February. The resumption date will be confirmed later in accordance with the development of the fight against the epidemic.

— The registration for clinical trials on the antiviral drug Remdesivir has been approved, and the first batch of pneumonia patients infected by the novel coronavirus are expected to start taking the drug on Feb 6.

— The first makeshift hospital converted from an exhibition center in epidemic-hit Wuhan began accepting patients on Feb 5.

— Wuhan had set up 132 quarantine sites by Feb 4, providing over 12,500 beds to cope with the surging number of patients confirmed or suspected to be infected with the novel coronavirus.

— Kunming Dounan Flower Market, the largest fresh cut flower trading market in Asia, suspended service from Feb 6 amid epidemic outbreak.

— Chinese health authorities on Feb 6 said it received reports of 3,694 new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection and 73 deaths on Feb 5 from 31 provincial-level regions and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.