The National Health Commission released a COVID-19 triage protocol on Wednesday in an effort to deliver timely treatment for severe and high-risk patients, reduce rates of severe cases and death, while guaranteeing regular medical services.

Asymptomatic and mild cases can isolate at home and take oral medicines when necessary. For elderly patients with limited mobility, home-based therapy coupled with door-to-door services provided by medical staff is recommended, said the guideline released on the commission's website.

Moderate cases with high-risk factors such as old age and severe preexisting illnesses who are in stable condition should be transferred to COVID-19-designated hospitals.

Guo Yanhong, director of the commission's health emergency response department, said during a news conference on Thursday that because the majority of infected patients only need to isolate at home and take recommended pills, health clinics and hospitals are required to expand online consultation services, while stocking up on regular medications and antigen tests to meet demand.

According to the protocol, severe and critical cases with pneumonia symptoms and infected patients on dialysis should be transferred to high-level designated hospitals.

Other serious COVID-19 cases threatened by preexisting illnesses should be transferred to major comprehensive hospitals in the region.

"Designated hospitals should be multidisciplinary, and be equipped with sufficient and experienced medical staff to ensure high-quality treatment," she said.

In Beijing, an increasing number of hospitals have become COVID-19-designated hospitals in the past few days, including at least two major hospitals in the city's most populous Chaoyang district.

As influenza and other respiratory diseases tend to strike harder in winter, Guo added that fever clinics are required to increase capacity and should not be suspended arbitrarily.

The protocol also asked local communities to survey the conditions of vulnerable groups in their jurisdictions. Major hospitals are also urged to step up the construction of intensive care units and medical staff.

In another notice released on Wednesday, the commission reiterated that 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 notice is aimed at optimizing 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 test 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 due to the lack of test results. Patients in need of emergency care without a test 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 hospitalized patients for the virus before admitting them.

Monitoring of hospitalized patients who are aged 65 and above, unvaccinated or suffering severe chronic diseases should be strengthened.