Medical institutions across China must not reject patients without negative nucleic acid testing results taken within 48 hours and should allocate relatively isolated areas to receive infected cases, the National Health Commission said in a notice released on Wednesday.

The notice is aimed at optimising hospital management procedures and improving medical services amid continuing threats of the COVID-19 disease, the commission said.

At outpatient facilities, hospitals are required to check testing results taken within 48 hours for all visitors and handle those with negative results and those with positive results in separate, designated areas.

Emergency care departments must not delay treatment for the sake of no test results. Patients in need of emergency care but do not have a testing result should be able to access treatment at a buffer zone while taking an antigen and a nucleic acid test simultaneously.

For inpatient facilities, hospitals should screen hospitalised patients for the virus before admitting them. Monitoring of hospitalised patients aged 65 and above, unvaccinated and suffering severe chronic diseases should be strengthened.

In addition, relatively separate buildings or wards with designated medical staff should be assigned to take in positive cases. Companions are not allowed unless necessary.