Diagnosis and Treatment Protocol for COVID-19 Patients (Tentative 8th Edition): Interpretation of Updated Key Points

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become a major global public health pandemic. China was the first country to report the epidemic situation, which quickly identified the pathogen, and released the novel coronavirus gene sequence globally. Thus, China has played an essential role in the global fight against COVID-19. Since the outbreak of the epidemic, the Chinese government and citizens have pursued robust prevention and control measures, including wearing masks, hand hygiene, social distancing, etc. Large-scale nucleic acid testing has been fully implemented and has resulted in early detection, reporting, quarantine, and treatment. China’s epidemic situation has been generally brought under control, and the fatality rate has been effectively controlled. Recently there are sporadic cases of COVID-19 in China. Of the locally transmitted cases reported at January 20, 2021, 68 were reported in Heilongjiang, 33 in Jilin, 20 in Hebei, two each in Beijing and Shanxi, and one in Shandong, the National Health Commission reported. For further COVID-19medical treatment, the National Health Commission and the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine have organized national experts of infection, respiratory and intensive medicine, pediatrics, and traditional Chinese medicine to revise the seventh edition of China’s diagnosis and treatment plan. The appointed national experts have summarized prior clinical experience and referred to the diagnosis and treatment guidelines of WHO as well as other countries to produce the eighth edition of the diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19. Currently, it has been updated, and the interpretation is as follows: