Schools and offices should be equipped with air purifiers to limit people’s exposure to indoor pollutants, China’s National Health Commission said in a guideline published Tuesday.

The guideline, which was sent to provincial-level health commissions last week, also recommends that indoor areas including kindergartens, schools, and gyms, install ventilation systems that reduce carbon dioxide levels. On heavy smog days, people should stay indoors or wear protective masks if they must go outside, the guideline said.

As coal-fueled heaters fire up each winter to combat the cold, China’s northern cities frequently become enveloped in toxic smog. In 2017, an undisclosed number of schools in Beijing received funding to install air-purification systems after the city’s education commission received numerous complaints from concerned parents. This year, central environmental authorities set stricter emissions targets for highly polluted cities in a bid to improve air quality. (Image: The Paper)