Article 42 When an infectious disease breaks out and prevails, the local people's government at or above the county level shall immediately get people organized to control and treat the disease in accordance with its preliminary plan for prevention and control and cut off the route of transmission; and when necessary, they may take the following emergency measures, subject to reporting to and decision by the people's government at the next higher level, and make the measures known to the public:

(1) restricting or suspending fairs, cinema shows, theatrical performances and other types of mass gathering;

(2) suspension of work, business and school classes;

(3) closing or sealing off public drinking water sources, foodstuffs and relevant objects contaminated with the pathogens of infectious diseases;

(4) controlling or wiping out wild animals, domestic animals and fowls infected with epidemics; and

(5) closing the places where the spread of infectious diseases may be caused.

When receiving the report of the people's government at a lower level proposing to take the emergency measures as mentioned in the preceding paragraph, the people's government at the higher level shall immediately make a decision.

Withdrawal of the emergency measures shall be subject to decision and announcement by the organ that originally makes the decision to take the measures.

Article 43 When an infectious disease under Class A or B breaks out or prevails, the local people's government at or above the county level may, subject to decision by the government at the next higher level, announce part or the whole of its administrative area as an epidemic area; and the State Council may decide and announce areas across provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government as epidemic areas. The local people's governments at or above the county level may take the emergency measures as specified in Article 42 of this Law in an epidemic area, and carry out sanitary quarantine of persons, goods and materials and means of transport entering or leaving the epidemic area.

People's governments of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government may decide to blockade an epidemic area of an infectious disease under Class A in their own administrative areas; however, the blockade of an epidemic area in a large or medium-sized city or the blockade of an epidemic area across a province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government, as well as the blockade of an epidemic area leading to the interruption of the traffic along a main line of communications, or the blockade of frontiers shall be subject to decision by the State Council.

Termination of the blockade of an epidemic area shall be subject to decision and announcement by the organ that originally makes the decision.

Article 44 When an infectious disease under Class A breaks out, transport sanitary quarantine may be carried out in order to prevent the spread of such disease through the means of transport as well as the persons, goods and materials carried by them. The specific measures in this regard shall be formulated by the State Council.

Article 45 When an infectious disease breaks out and prevails, the State Council shall, in light of the need to control the epidemic situation of the infectious disease, have the power, within the whole country or in areas across a province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government, and the local people's governments at or above the country level shall have the power, in their own administrative areas, immediately to mobilize people or transfer stored goods and materials, and provisionally requisition houses and means of transport as well as relevant facilities and equipment.

To persons who are immediately mobilized, reasonable remunerations shall be paid in accordance with relevant regulations. For the houses and means of transport as well as relevant facilities and equipment that are provisionally requisitioned, compensation shall be made according to law; and whatever can be returned shall be returned in a timely manner.

Article 46 The body of a person who dies of an infectious disease under Class A or anthrax shall immediately be given sanitary treatment and cremated at a nearby place. The body of a person who dies of other infectious diseases shall, when necessary, be cremated after sanitary treatment or buried deep as required by relevant regulations.

In order to find out the cause of an infectious disease, medical agencies may, when necessary, perform autopsy on the corpses of patients or suspected patients of infectious diseases for examination in accordance with the regulations of the health administration department under the State Council, and shall inform the family members of the dead of the matter.

Article 47 Where the objects contaminated or likely contaminated with the pathogens of infectious diseases in epidemic areas can be used again after disinfection, they shall be used, sold or transported only after being subjected to disinfection under the direction of local disease prevention and control institutions.

Article 48 When the epidemic situation of an infectious disease occurs, the disease prevention and control institutions or other professional technical agencies related to infectious diseases that are designated by the health administration departments under the people's governments at or above the provincial level may enter the epidemic spots or areas of infectious diseases to make investigation, collect samples and make technical analysis and examination.

Article 49 When an infectious disease breaks out and prevails, manufacturers and suppliers of medicines and medical instruments shall immediately produce and supply the medicines and medical instruments for prevention and treatment of the infectious disease. Railway, communications and civil aviation services shall give priority to transportation of the persons for handling of the epidemic situation of the infectious disease and the medicines and medical instruments for prevention and treatment of the infectious disease. The relevant departments under the people's governments at or above the county level shall do a good job of coordinating efforts in this endeavor.

Chapter V Medical Treatment

Article 50 People's governments at or above the county level shall strengthen and improve the establishment of their service networks for medical treatment of infectious diseases, assign medical agencies with the conditions and capability for treating infectious diseases the task of treating such diseases, or set up hospitals for infectious diseases in light of the need to treat the diseases.

Article 51 The basic standards, construction design and service process of medical agencies shall be in conformity with the requirements for prevention of hospital infection of infectious diseases.

Medical agencies shall, in accordance with relevant regulations, have the medical instruments in use disinfected; with respect to the medical apparatus that can be used only once according to regulations, they shall be destroyed after they are used.

Medical agencies shall, in accordance with the standards of diagnosis and requirements of treatment for infectious diseases specified by the health administration department under the State Council, take necessary measures to enhance their capability for medical treatment of infectious diseases.

Article 52 Medical agencies shall give medical treatment and on-the-spot rescue to the patients or suspected patients of infectious diseases or provide outpatient service to them, keep written records of the cases and other relevant materials and preserve them properly.

Medical agencies shall practise a system of preliminary and separate examination in respect of infectious diseases; and patients or suspected patients of infectious diseases shall be led to separate, relatively isolated spots for preliminary examination. A medical agency that does not have the capability needed for treatment shall transfer the patients and the copies of their medical records to a medical agency that has such capability. The specific measures in this regard shall be formulated by the health administration department under the State Council.

Chapter VI Supervision and Control

Article 53 Health administration departments under the people's governments at or above the county level shall perform the following duties of supervision and examination regarding prevention and treatment of infectious diseases:

(1) to supervise and inspect the health administration departments under the people's governments at lower levels as to their performance of the duties prescribed by this Law regarding prevention and treatment of infectious diseases;

(2) to supervise and inspect the work of preventing and treating infectious diseases done by the disease prevention and control institutions and medical agencies;

(3) to supervise and inspect the collection and supply of blood done by blood collectors and suppliers;