Hubei to get longer Spring Festival holiday

China has greenlighted an additional extension of the Spring Festival holiday in Hubei province, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak — and other provincial areas seeing quick spikes in new infections — to curb the spread of the epidemic, it was decided at a high-level meeting in Beijing on Friday.

The meeting of the leading group of the Communist Party of China Central Committee on coping with the pneumonia-causing virus, chaired by Premier Li Keqiang, stressed the importance of epidemic prevention and control for individuals returning after the holiday.

The State Council had already decided to extend the weeklong holiday, which sees hundreds of millions of people travel around the country for family reunions, from Thursday to Sunday in order to reduce population flows and curb the spread of the virus.

The meeting on Friday granted a further holiday extension to residents of Hubei as well as those working in other areas who have been stranded in the province.

For areas seeing sharp increases in infections, the authorities can also delay the opening of businesses and schools after going through legal procedures, according to the meeting's statement.

Also on Friday, the Beijing municipal government made a separate announcement saying companies should offer flexible working hours and conditions for employees not directly involved in the fight against the disease before Feb 10.

Essential sectors including pharmaceuticals, water and power supply, transportation and food production are required to maintain regular shifts, according to the announcement.

The meeting chaired by Li called for a quicker return to work for sectors producing medical resources desperately needed in the fight against the virus, or those related to daily public life.

It is important to ensure normal transport and transportation amid epidemic control, the statement said.

To address shortages of medical resources such as protective gowns, the meeting called for heightened efforts to conduct unified production, dispatching and distribution of resources nationwide.

The government will prioritize support to key areas such as Wuhan, the statement said, adding that local authorities must not intercept medical resources being dispatched nationwide.

The meeting called for accurate and timely disclosure of information on the outbreak, saying that hiding or underreporting of infections will be not tolerated.