China to strengthen care for children in need amid epidemic

China has pledged to provide more care for children whose guardians are not around amid the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Children should be taken care of when their guardians are hospitalized or quarantined because of the epidemic, according to a notice jointly issued by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Ministry of Education made public Monday.

It also specified the requirement to safeguard the health of different groups of children, such as those living in child welfare institutions and with foster families.

The epidemic prevention protocol of local child welfare institutions and juvenile rescue and protection agencies should be adjusted in accordance with each region's level of risk, said the notice, adding that new recruits to such institutions must be quarantined for at least 14 days before beginning work.

Communication with foster families must be carried out daily, and care for left-behind children in rural areas should be enhanced, it said.

The notice also required child welfare institutions to monitor the reopening of schools and make preparations accordingly, such as designating separate living areas for those going to school.

Efforts were also urged to make sure children living in such institutions have access to online learning while schools remain closed due to the epidemic.