XI URGES COMMUNITY WORKERS TO KEEP UP VIRUS PREVENTION

President Xi Jinping encouraged community workers to continue their epidemic prevention efforts to secure the final victory in the battle against COVID-19 on Thursday.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks in a letter replying to community workers at a neighborhood which he inspected during his visit last month to Wuhan, the hardest-hit city by the outbreak and the capital of Hubei province.

CHINA ISSUES COUPONS TO STIMULATE CONSUMPTION

China has issued coupons to stimulate consumption and hedge downward pressures brought by the novel coronavirus outbreak, the 21st Century Business Herald reported on Thursday.

Nearly 50 cities from 16 provinces and regions issued coupons with cumulative value ranging from millions to hundreds of millions of yuan by April 8.

In terms of scale, Hangzhou in East China's Zhejiang province issued the most coupons among all 47 investigated cities, 10 of which issued more than 100 million yuan in coupons.

The total amount of coupons issued by Hangzhou reached 1.68 billion yuan ($240 million) on March 26, including 500 million yuan in government subsidies and 1.18 billion yuan in business discounts. The city also issued an additional 50 million yuan in coupons to further stimulate consumption on April 1.

In terms of industry, over 80 percent of consumption coupons are related to the catering industry and 42.5 percent are related to the tourism industry, according to statistics from 21 Data News Lab.

Moreover, this consumer coupon boom also provided strong support to retail, accommodation, sports and book selling.

In terms of payment platforms, WeChat and Alipay are the two major platforms to apply for and use these coupons in electronic form.

WeChat has diversified distribution channels, including WeChat wallets, card packages, public accounts and applets.

It's notable that many cities are choosing Alipay for their second round of coupons, and Meituan as another important platform for issuing coupons, the report said.

China's total retail sales of consumer goods fell by 20.5 percent from January to February, among which revenue in the catering, automobile and home appliance industries decreased 43.1 percent, 37 percent and 30 percent, respectively, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

Distributing coupons has been effective in stimulating consumption and boosting confidence in the stock market at the same time.

About 453 million yuan in consumption was stimulated and 28.93 million yuan in government subsidies were redeemed within 56 hours after the issuance of consumer vouchers in Hangzhou alone.

Entertainment and service sectors led increases in early trading on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, with two stocks, including Yunnan Tourism and Xi'an Catering, hitting their daily limits on April 8.

ONLINE INDUSTRY'S UNREGULATED RUN ENDS

On Tuesday, the China Association of Performing Arts' online branch blacklisted 58 online news anchors for five years.

Lately, news anchors, especially livestreamers, have come under the spotlight for using inappropriate language or not being "properly" dressed.

Only a few commit such crimes, but the entire online performing arts industry's reputation suffers; many do not consider "online news anchor" a respectable job. The behavior of a few is unfair to millions of online news anchors and live-streamers who work diligently.

The punishment was long overdue and it comes not from an official agency, but from an association of performing artists, proving that the industry is able to self-regulate.

When an industry sets discipline guidelines for its members and resolves to ensure they strictly abide by them, the industry can self-regulate and evict those breaking the regulations−which will be a win-win result for both the law enforcers and the industry participants.

The mobile internet has lowered the threshold for many industries. Anybody holding a smartphone can now claim to be an "online news anchor" or "reporter". However, many of them will not behave professionally without an industry code to abide by. The period of unregulated luxuriant growth is definitely over for all internet-based industries.

CONTAGION CONTROL RULES TO CONTINUE IN HUBEI

Wuhan will continue to enforce strict controls on residential communities to prevent a rebound of the novel coronavirus after the capital of Hubei province was reconnected with the outside world on Wednesday.

Authorities across Hubei should continue existing epidemic control measures aimed at communities, including identity recording and body temperature tests of all people entering or exiting residential areas, and ensuring that everyone wears a mask, according to a notice released by the provincial government on Tuesday night.

Strict epidemic control measures should also apply to all sorts of venues open to the public, such as shopping malls and parks, to prevent cross-infection, while schools ranging from kindergartens to colleges in Hubei will continue to postpone reopening, the notice said.

The notice also appealed to residents to refrain from going outside their communities unless necessary and said they should wear a mask in public places, to contribute to the final victory over the disease.

On Wednesday, Wuhan ended the 76-day lockdown by reopening outbound train, air, ferry and road service. The city's public transport system, including subway and buses, also resumed operation.

Wuhan has been the Chinese city hardest hit by the outbreak. As of the end of Tuesday, it had reported more than 50,000 confirmed cases, accounting for more than 60 percent of all cases on the Chinese mainland. But the number of new cases in the city fell to single digits in mid-March and has remained at zero or single digits since.

"Epidemic control in Wuhan is facing uncertainties and complex challenges due to causes such as changes in the international epidemic situation and reopening to the outside world," Hu Shuguang, deputy head of Wuhan's epidemic control headquarters, said on Tuesday.

While optimizing physical barriers in communities to facilitate residents going to work, screening efforts will be emphasized for cases that might otherwise not be detected.

"We do not have enough knowledge of the novel coronavirus yet, and the appearance of asymptomatic cases and people who tested positive again after recovering has added to complexity of disease control and prevention," said Tao Cunxin, chief for community epidemic screening for Wuhan's epidemic control headquarters.

Epidemic screening in Wuhan also will target more key groups including people working outdoors or in a crowded environment, those who had finished the quarantine period outside Wuhan and people coming from overseas, he said.

Chen Hongxing, an official from Dongxihu district in Wuhan, said following the end of Wuhan's lockdown, some business such as restaurants will be reopened to meet the demand of residents.

However, epidemic control measures at the communities will not be loosened in the near future, he said.

Zhao Wei, in charge of property management at a local community, said with the recent resumption of production in the city, the number of people entering or exiting the community has surpassed 100 a day, posing difficulties for epidemic control.

"We have to keep on explaining to residents that they still cannot go out at will, although the city lockdown has been lifted," he said.

NEW VERSION OF LONG MARCH TO MAKE ITS DEBUT

China's Long March 5B carrier rocket is scheduled to make its debut flight later this month at the Wenchang Space Launch Center in Hainan province, according to the China Manned Space Agency.

The agency recently published a picture of the first Long March 5B that has been assembled inside a colossal building, indicating the giant rocket is ready for the maiden mission.

The coming flight will send the first prototype of the country's new manned spaceship into orbit to verify that the design of the rocket and the spacecraft are suitable, the agency said.

The rocket was transported to the launch center in February by two rocket transportation ships−Yuanwang 21 and Yuanwang 22-from Tianjin, a northern coastal municipality that is home to the rocket's manufacturing complexes and has been undergoing tests and prelaunch preparations since then.

According to the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology in Beijing, the leading rocket developer in the country, Long March 5B is the first variant of the Long March 5, which conducted its third mission at the Wenchang center in December.

The new model will be tasked with sending large spacecraft to low-Earth orbit, the academy said in a statement.

A Long March 5B is 53.7 meters long, with a diameter of 5 meters. It will be propelled by liquid oxygen, liquid hydrogen and kerosene and will have a liftoff weight of about 849 metric tons.

Li Dong, the rocket's chief designer, said that the craft will be pollution-free and will be the most powerful rocket when it comes to carrying capacity to low-Earth orbit, capable of placing 22 tons of payload into such orbit.

The China Manned Space Agency said the new-generation manned spaceship has a total length of 8.8 meters and a liftoff weight of 21.6 tons. It will be tasked with serving the construction and operation of China's future space station as well as the country's manned lunar missions being planned by scientists, the agency noted.

Yang Qing, chief structural designer of the spacecraft, said: "This coming mission will serve to examine and demonstrate the new spaceship's re-entry, heat-resistance and recovery technologies and will lay a solid foundation for the improvement of the spaceship's design."

Compared with the Shenzhou series, the country's operational crewed spacecraft family, the new generation of manned spaceship will be capable of conducting longer missions and operating in a hotter environment, he noted.

Furthermore, it will be able to carry three astronauts and as much as 500 kilograms of cargo into space. It will also be able to bring items back to Earth from the space station, Yang said, adding that its re-entry module will be reusable.

SHANGHAI SCIENTISTS MAKE DISCOVERY IN GENE EDITING APPROACH

Shanghai scientists have found in lab tests that a novel gene editing approach could for the first time regenerate retinal ganglion cells and therefore restore sight of mice that suffer from permanent visual impairment.

The technology, which converts particular glial cells into neurons, was also found to be able to help mice suffering from Parkinson's disease regain motor functions.

The lab results have provided insights into the clinical treatment of various neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, muscular dystrophy, frostbite and certain types of blindness, said the research group from the Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

"The research team will soon find collaborators and proceed with lab tests on monkeys. If all the animal tests prove effective, we hope the results can be applied clinically for the well-being of humans," said Mu-ming Poo, an academician at CAS and the academic director of the center.

Poo added that such approaches are internationally acclaimed and do not pose ethical disputes as they do not affect reproductive cells and thus future generations.

Scientists explained that the neurons in the human nervous system cannot regenerate after injury or death. Various other reasons, such as medication and genetic factors, can also lead to the death of neurons and thus trigger different neurodegenerative diseases.

It is estimated that more than 100 million people worldwide are living with neurodegenerative diseases, and the number is expected to rise as the aging population increases.

A type of permanent blindness caused by the death of retinal ganglion cells, a specific species of neurons functioning as the sole bridge linking the eyes and the brain, is another common neurodegenerative disorder.

In lab tests on mice, researchers discovered that the retinal ganglion cells derived from glial cells on the retinal ganglion cell layer can function as natural neurons to respond to light stimulation and are able to transmit visual signals to the brain.

"We found that such technology could revive the sensitivity to light for mice with impaired retinal ganglion cells," said Yang Hui, a leading researcher on the team.

Similarly, the researchers found that the approach could convert astrocytes, a type of glial cells, into dopamine neurons efficiently. Behavioral tests on mice with Parkinson's disease also showed that their motor dysfunctions were alleviated.

A paper about the study was published on the website of the United States-based journal Cell on Wednesday.

"Previous similar efforts focused on knockdown of toxic mutant transcripts in models of mendelian inherited genetic disease, whereas this study presents the novel aspect of using these tools for in vivo therapeutic cell fate conversion, which is interesting and could be a broadly applicable approach," read a peer review.

SUIFENHE COMMUNITIES CLOSED AS 25 NEW CASES ARISE

Heilongjiang province's health commission on Tuesday reported 25 new imported COVID-19 cases, all of whom entered via the land crossing in Suifenhe city, where the residential communities have now been closed.

The 25 new cases represented nearly half the 59 cases reported nationwide, according to provincial and national health authorities on Wednesday.

All the new cases were Chinese citizens who entered the mainland via the highway port of entry in Suifenhe before April 6 after flying from Moscow to Vladivostok in Russia's Far East.

The port has been closed since Tuesday, the provincial foreign affairs office announced.

On Wednesday, the Chinese embassy in Moscow said all the land ports between China and Russia are temporarily closed for travelers.

All the 25 new patients have been hospitalized, and all passengers on the same flights have been placed in quarantine.

On Wednesday, the province also reported 86 new asymptomatic cases of infected people who came from Russia by the same route.

All residential communities in Suifenhe were expected to close on Wednesday morning, the local epidemic control department said on Tuesday.

Each family can send one member outside for purchases every three days, the department said.

Residents are required to register pass permits and scan health codes when entering and leaving the communities, and masks and temperature checks are mandatory.

According to a statement on the website of the Chinese consul general in Vladivostok on Tuesday, the local Primorsky Krai government has taken strict pandemic-control measures that would put all arrivals by Russian domestic flights under a 14-day quarantine.

Only residents who have permits can pass through the region, and all hotels will be closed until June 1.

The consul general urged all Chinese citizens to avoid returning through the Suifenhe port.

As of Wednesday, the province has a total of 86 imported confirmed cases, including six in serious condition, as well as two local asymptomatic cases and 144 imported asymptomatic cases.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

It is the true nature of mankind to learn from mistakes, not from example. - Fred Hoyle