A number of Chinese universities have announced to reduce Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays in order to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The universities plan to extend the winter holiday in compensation.

Beijing Municipal Education Commission spokesperson Li Yi explained that it is necessary to adopt closed management as part of regular epidemic prevention and control. At the start of the new semester in late August and September, over 930,000 university students returned to Beijing from all over China. In order to deal with the large and mobile population of university students, universities need to adjust their methods of teaching and learning, as well as campus lifestyle.

Students are being encouraged to stay on campus and to avoid non-essential travel. However students planning to visit family, seek employment, or receive medical treatment may leave campus after notifying the university. The policy aims to provide effective tracking of infections and sources of infection.

Beijing is still in the stage of epidemic prevention and control, so students are required to reduce their off-campus activities, including entertainment, tourism and fitness.

Autumn and winter are always the seasons with a high incidence of respiratory diseases. Also, according to a guideline released by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, there is a risk that the coronavirus could become much more active during the coming winter. Accordingly, universities in Beijing still require students to wear masks on campus. Students and staff are also priority groups for influenza vaccination.

This is an edited excerpt of an article originally published in Beijing Youth Daily on September 12

(Print Edition Title: Prevention on Campus)