Editor’s Note: With the waves of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak happening in China’s several cities since entering winter, Hangzhou has gone through the battle of fighting with the COVID-19 pandemic and lifted the restriction on the prevention and control measures. More precautionary methods should be emphasized and the awareness of prevention should be raised to keep the hard-won results. Today’s Zhejiang Highlight will keep you informed of the proceedings of Zhejiang Covid-19 pandemic prevention and control, and other stories unfolded under the special time.

1. Restriction on Covid-19 control and prevention in Hangzhou lifted

Zhejiang Province held the 96th press conference on the prevention and control of the COVID-19 epidemic and introduced the latest situation of the prevention and control of the epidemic.

The conference informed that according to the change of the epidemic situation, since December 21, Longhu Chunjiangtianxi community has been adjusted to be low-risk areas, marking the whole area of Hangzhou has been low-risk. According to the relevant provisions of the national joint prevention and control mechanism, there is no longer any restriction on cross-province travel for residents of Xiaoshan District, and Hangzhou citizens are not required to hold a negative nucleic acid test certificate within 48 hours for cross-province travel.

2. Hangzhou readjusted to be a low-risk area

So far, the whole area of Hangzhou is a low-risk area. At noon on December 21, residents of the Longhu Chunjiangtianxi community in Xiaoshan District received a notice to lift the lockdown restriction. The health codes of the residents in the district have all turned green.

Since the discovery of imported cases from abroad on December 7, Xiaoshan District has adopted a lockdown policy timely and controlled key districts for epidemic prevention and control management. Full members of nucleic acid testing have been done in the lockdown areas, with the help of big data and artificial intelligence tools to accurately promote flow transfer, exclusion, and monitoring and effectively control the spread of the epidemic. On the afternoon of December 20, the whole community has carried out the fifth round of nucleic acid testing, of which eight rounds of nucleic acid testing have been completed in key control buildings, and the results were all negative.

3. Hangzhou offers drive-through COVID-19 tests for car-hailing drivers

Taxi drivers and online ride-hailing operators in Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang province, were provided with free drive-through nucleic acid tests at five designated locations from Dec 17 to 19, local media outlets reported.

The entire process required just three minutes. The test results were determined within four to six hours. “It was quite convenient, just like driving through a toll gate,” said a taxi driver surnamed Jin who has been driving taxis in Hangzhou for over 10 years.

Drivers who had not applied for the drive-through test beforehand were also able to undergo the test by scanning the registration QR code located at the site. The five designated locations are all in downtown Hangzhou - the Shangcheng district sports center, the south and north taxi channels at Hangzhou East Railway Station, and the taxi area at Hangzhou International Airport.

4. Daily schedules of college students in Zhejiang go viral online

The daily schedules made by the students in Zhejiang University have gone viral on the internet. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Hangzhou has changed the daily study life of the students.

Nevertheless, their lives have been enriched by all kinds of classes and extra-curriculum activities throughout the day, setting good exemplars to display self-discipline and good habits. Therefore, Zhejiang University has organized the competition of daily schedule making to let students share their plans for everyday school life.

Ye Shengjun, staff of the youth league committee in Zhejiang University commented, "many students feel busy in school, yet they don’t know what they are busy with. We want to encourage students to set up plans to make the best use of their time, and use schedules to reflect on themselves, being controllers of time”. The participants in the competition said, “Making schedules can make my study more efficient and relieve my anxiety”.

5. Book on Xi's years in Zhejiang published

A book recalling the years when Xi Jinping worked in East China's Zhejiang province has been published. "Xi Jinping in Zhejiang" uses a series of interviews of Xi's former colleagues, cadres at different levels, business people, experts, journalists, and others to depict the thought and practice of Xi in leading the province from October 2002 to March 2007. The book was published by the publishing house of the Party School of the Communist Party of China Central Committee.

Editor: Huang Yan