China makes senior care facilities safer

BEIJING, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- China has addressed nearly 200,000 safety issues after inspecting all of the country's 41,700 senior care facilities over the past year, a vice minister said Thursday.

Vice Minister of Civil Affairs Gao Xiaobing said at a press conference in Beijing that the national overhaul covered both registered and unregistered senior care facilities.

As a result, safety incidents in senior care facilities dropped by a quarter in 2017, Gao said.

China has a rapidly aging population. The number of people over 60 has reached 241 million. Public elder care services, however, are in short supply.

The vice minister said the government will draft policies to boost the development of quality senior care facilities and pilot community support services for the elderly who opt to stay at home, which is more in line with the country's elder care tradition. Enditem