China has launched a new four-tier early warning system for infectious diseases, aiming to significantly enhance its national public health response capabilities. This system, outlined in a new guideline, classifies risks from extremely low to high and dictates specific actions for each level.

• The system covers 41 notifiable diseases, novel illnesses, and those with unknown causes.
• The National Disease Control and Prevention Administration released the guideline, which takes effect immediately.
• For a high-risk evaluation, disease control agencies must report within two hours, potentially leading to an alert issued by the regional government.