Work Plan for Transport of Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia Cases (Provisional)

Promulgation Date: 2020-1-27
Title: 国家卫生健康委办公厅关于印发新型冠状病毒感染的肺炎病例转运工作方案（试行）的通知
Document Number:国卫办医函〔2020〕76号
Expiration date:
Promulgating Entities: General Office of the National Health Commission
Source of text: http://www.gov.cn/zhengce/zhengceku/2020-01/29/content_5472894.htm

To the health commissions of each province, autonomous region, directly-governed municipality, and of the Xinjiang production and construction corps.

In order to do a good job of efforts to prevent and control the novel coronavirus pneumonia epidemic, and to ensure the smooth development of efforts to transport cases in each region and the effective control of the epidemic, we have drafted this "Work Plan for Transport of Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia Cases (Provisional)" Each local department for health administration is asked to draft specific detailed work rules following the requirements of this plan and actual local conditions, to ensure that work is carried out in an orderly fashion.

Attachment: Work Plan for Transport of Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia Cases (Provisional)

Work Plan for Transport of Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia Cases (Provisional)

This Work Plan is specially drafted to ensure the smooth development of efforts to transport cases of new coronavirus pneumonia, to effectively control the epidemic, and to safeguard the people's physical health and safety.

I. Basic Requirements

(1) All levels of department for health administration are to make overall plans for command and dispatch work for transport of novel coronavirus pneumonia cases in the jurisdiction they are responsible for. Suspected and confirmed cases should both be transported to the designated hospitals for centralized treatment. When medical establishments discover cases of the novel coronavirus pneumonia, they are required to report them to the local departments for health administration; the municipal-level departments for health administration are to organize an emergency care center and transport all cases to designated treatment hospitals.

(2) Emergency care centers shall set up specialized areas for parking transport ambulances, allot cleaning and disinfectant facilities, appoint special medical personnel, drivers, and ambulances responsible for efforts to transport cases of novel coronavirus pneumonia.

(3) Medical establishments and emergency care centers shall do a good job of keeping records of transport and handovers, and promptly report these to the departments for health administration at the level above.

II. Transport Requirements

(1) Specially designated ambulances carrying medical equipment (including stretchers) are to be used for transport with the driver area tightly separated from the compartment, a special area for placing contaminated items, and equipped with protective gear, disinfectant, and hand sanitizer.

(2) Medical personnel are to wear work clothes, quarantine suits, gloves, work hats, and medical protective masks; drivers are to wear work clothes, surgical masks, and gloves.

(3) After medical personnel and drivers transport patients with novel coronavirus pneumonia, they must promptly change all their protective gear.

(IV) Transport ambulance should have a basic capacity for transporting patients with respiratory diseases and use negative pressure ambulances as much as possible for transport. During transport, seals should be maintained, and vehicles are to be disinfected after transport. When transporting serious cases, necessary life support equipment should be brought in the vehicle to prevent the patients' condition from becoming worse in transport.

(5) The protection of medical personnel and drivers; follow the "Hospital Contagion Management Measures" , the "Sterilization Technical Specifications" and relevant regulations for disinfection of vehicles, medical supplies and equipment, and for the disposal of contaminated items.

(6) After ambulances make a run, they must be strictly sterilized before transporting another patient.

III. Workflow

(1) Transport processes

Put on protective items → leave the medical establishment in the car to get the patient→ patients put on surgical masks →place the patient in the ambulance→transport the patient to the medical establishment→ disinfect the ambulance and equipment → transport the next patient.

(2) Process for putting on and removing protective items

Process for putting on protective items: wash or disinfect hands→ put on a hat→ put on a medical protective mask →put on work clothes →put on quarantine suit → put on gloves.

Procedure for taking off protective items: Take off gloves→wash or disinfect hands→take off quarantine suit→wash or disinfect hands→take off mask and hat→ wash or disinfect hands.

(III) Before getting off work, medical personnel and drivers are to perform hand sanitation→ shower and clean clothes.

(4) Ambulance cleaning and sterilization:

1. Air: window ventilation.

2. Compartment and surfaces: Wipe and disinfect with hydrogen peroxide spray or chlorine-containing disinfectant.