Zhongkao postponed Authorities in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province, announced on Monday that the local senior high school entrance examination, or zhong kao, scheduled for June 20-22 would be postponed to July over COVID-19. The decision was made to protect the health of teachers and students per epidemic prevention and control measures as the exam in the current situation could increase cross-infection risks, the municipal education department said. The exam time would be set soon depending on the epidemic situation and be made public in advance, said Gu Zhongpeng, deputy director of the department. More than 90,000 junior high school students are scheduled to take part in the exam, Gu said. Vaccine use China has approved the emergency use of its domestic inactivated vaccines against COVID-19 on people aged from 3 to 17, according to a press conference held on Friday. Currently, China’s mass-vaccination campaign mainly targets adults aged over 18, with over 800 million vaccine doses administered across the country so far, said Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention expert Shao Yiming, at the press conference. China’s mass-vaccination campaign so far has proved that its domestically-made vaccines are safe and effective, Shao said. Following their authorized use for adults, the Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines, both developed by China’s pharmaceutical institutions, have been proven safe for the 3-17 age group after clinical trials and expert reviews, and are now authorized for emergency use by the age group by related authorities, said Shao. Hubei gas blast The Work Safety Committee of China’s State Council will supervise the investigation into a deadly gas explosion in Hubei Province, the Ministry of Emergency Management said on Monday. The blast occurred on Sunday morning at a two-story building in a residential community in Zhangwan District in the city of Shiyan, killing 12 people and injuring 138 others, according to local authorities. President Xi Jinping has ordered allout efforts to rescue the injured after the gas explosion. Foreigners vaccinated More than 200,000 foreigners in China have been vaccinated against COVID-19 to date, a foreign ministry spokesperson said on Thursday. Spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the remarks at a daily press briefing. “The Chinese Government attaches great importance to maintaining and safeguarding the safety and health of foreigners in China,” the spokesperson said. In order to protect foreigners working, living and studying in China and build an effective immune barrier to the greatest extent, China has included the eligible age group among foreigners in the country into the scope of inoculation with domestic vaccines, he said. (SD-Agencies) | 