China orders rural hospitals to prepare for migrants’ return

BEIJING (AP) — China’s Cabinet is ordering rural areas to prepare for the return of migrant workers for the holiday season in hopes of preventing a major surge in COVID-19 cases in communities with limited medical resources. Orders issued Friday said returnees must wear masks and avoid contact with elderly people. The guidelines said village committees must monitor their movements, but didn’t mention the possibility of isolation or quarantines. China last week dramatically eased some of the world’s strictest COVID-19 containment measures and now says it has shifted focus from prevention and control to treatment. The moves have sparked fears of a major surge in cases in the world’s most populous nation, particularly around the Lunar New Year travel rush.