Taiyuan city, capital of North China's Shanxi province, has seen 28,788 students attend the annual national college entrance exam or gaokao, being held there on June 7-8.

Taiyuan set up 987 exam rooms at 36 sites, with 140 test rooms isolated for medical observations at 10 sites. 

All staff members involved in the gaokao have been vaccinated against the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, the city has arranged for one deputy chief examiner for epidemic prevention and emergency handling to be present at each exam site. 

Two medical staff members and school doctors have been assigned to each test site to form a special epidemic prevention team. This is to ensure on-site medical security, with necessary first aid drugs and equipment – as well as to guide schools to do an efficient job in body temperature measurements and disinfections. 

In the event of an epidemic-related incident, the teams are directed to quickly provide medical information, to minimize potential panic among examinees. 

Taiyuan has nominated hospitals with fever clinics to be the designated hospitals for each test site. The hospitals have opened fast-track medical channels for both exam supervisors and candidates. 

The city has also conducted close inspections of facilities and equipment to prevent cheating in exams. 

During the exam period, the city has coordinated with the public security, traffic police and health departments to provide candidates with comprehensive services for transport, health, epidemic and heatstroke prevention. 

In addition, psychological consultation hotlines – 8726199 and 7565333 – have been opened during the exam period.