As the latest domestic coronavirus outbreaks are extinguished, the Chinese Ministry of Education has announced a number of anti-epidemic requirements at a press conference on Friday, in a bid to prevent another flare-up hitting the campuses during the upcoming semester, while calling a stop to mandatory requirements in some schools that mandate both parents and students are fully vaccinated before returning to campus.
Answering to the one-size-fits-all policies in some parts of the country, Wu Liangyou, deputy head of the National Health Commission's disease control bureau, said at a State Council press briefing on Friday that the policies in question will be corrected as soon as possible, and overly-simplified measures aimed at accelerating vaccination will be discouraged, focusing instead on providing positive reasons for people to be vaccinated.
Regions in China, including Ezhou and Shiyan in Hubei Province and Zhumadian in Henan Province, have canceled mandatory vaccination policies as of August 30.
Authorities in Ezhou's Echeng District on August 15 began requiring minors aged 12 to 17 and people over 18 years old without preexisting risk factors to vaccinate for COVID-19 within 10 days. Those who were not vaccinated and had no risk factors would have that information recorded in their personal credit records.
Maojian District in Shiyan also announced a similar provision for people aged over 18. The two regions have since canceled this regulation.
On August 23, authorities in Zhumadian's Zhengyang County required each student from local primary and middle schools to bring vaccination certificates belonging to their parents, grandparents and other close relatives living together when they returned to campus for the new semester. Without these documents, they were not to be permitted to return to school.
After three days, the provision was halted, as it is inconsistent with the principle of voluntary coronavirus vaccination in China.
