Environmental oversight eased for medical supply firms

Environmental authorities in many regions across the country have streamlined environmental impact assessment, a must for new projects, for medical supply manufacturers as China continues the battle against novel coronavirus outbreak.

In Xuzhou, Jiangsu province, for example, institutions will be exempted from going through the assessment if they are to start new projects related to epidemic control, Shanghai-headquartered China Business News reported on Wednesday.

If these new facilities still need to operate after the country wins the fight against the pathogen, they could forge ahead in the construction first and go through the procedure later, it said.

According to the Jiangsu provincial environmental apparatus, it has included companies involved in epidemic control in a "positive list", meaning that these enterprises will subject to less environmental inspections and also be exempted from production restrictions or suspension.

A series of measures will also be taken to facilitate companies to resume their production by handling more of the procedures needed for environment-related governmental approvals on the internet, it said.

Prior to Jiangsu, Hebei province has introduced preferential policies in the management of companies related to epidemic control on Feb 10.

The province has included 57 medical supply manufacturers in the province, including 28 producing protective gear, into its "positive list".

Aside from production restrictions and suspensions, these companies will also be spared from environmental inspections. Their vehicles will meet no restrictions in transportation, according to a media release from the apparatus's website.

In China, production restriction and suspension is often introduced to help tackle heavy air pollution situation, especially in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei cluster.

Proactively coordinating with other government bodies, it will make all-out efforts to ensure normal operation of these companies and medical institutes and their new projects' construction, it also said.