China's top health watchdog said patients with fever from unknown causes will be asked about their travel histories in the past 14 days, including traveling to South Korea, after South Korea reported the death of five people from Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS).
It would require authorities at all levels to quarantine people who came in close contact with confirmed patients of MERS, according to the National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) on Friday.
China's first confirmed patient, a South Korean man, was tested positive for MERS on May 29.
Medical staff should ask people about their exposure to animals, such as the dromedary camels, to those with symptoms of pneumonia and fever without definite causes, according to a new plan on preventing and controlling the spread of MERS.
It also requires health departments to quarantine people who have close contact with confirmed MERS patients, and check their temperature twice every day during the 14-day period.
People who have close contact with suspected MERS patients have to register with the local health department and undergo health checks.
China only required medical observations at home for people who come in close contact with confirmed patients in September 2013.
The second edition of MERS Prevention and Control, issued by the NHFPC, specifically targets people with pneumonia and flu.
China has identified 78 people who had close contact with the South Korean patient, and none of them showed any abnormality. The South Korean patient was still in severe condition, Guangdong health authority said on Thursday.
As of Sunday, South Korea has reported 64 MERS patients and quarantined some 2,300 people.
