On June 19, the first online “2020 Chinese Pest Control Conference” organized by the Chinese Pest Control Association and coorganized by Shenzhen Haishan Health Service Co., Ltd. and Jiangsu Gongcheng Biotechnology Co., Ltd. was successfully held in Beijing. Mao Qun’an, the Deputy Director of the National Patriotic Health Campaign Committee Office and Director of the Planning, Development and Information Department of the National Health Commission, and Cui Gang, a Grade II Counsel of the Disease Prevention and Control Bureau of the National Health Commission, and other government leaders gave a speech via video. The CPCA President Xu Jianguo, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, delivered a live speech from the CPCA’s office in Beijing. Vice President Bai Huqun, Xu Huimin, Tao Chuanjiang, Huang Xiaoyun, Cai Bolin, Zhou Liping, Lyu Weichuan and other leaders of the CPCA also sent congratulatory videos for the conference.
Director Mao Qun’an warmly welcomed the convening of the conference in the congratulations video. In his speech, he pointed out that most parts of China have entered the summer, and vector-borne diseases such as dengue fever have been on the rise. He hopes that people will raise the awareness and continuously improve on the various preventative measures. People also need to battle the COVID-19 epidemic along with vector-borne diseases. Counsel Cui Gang commented in his speech that at present, the epidemic of COVID-19 is still spreading around the world. Given that the pandemic has entered a stable phase in China, it is time to orderly resume production and people’s daily lives. We also must prevent COVID-19 from rebounding again. At the same time, we must also do a good job of environmental management as well as prevention and control of vector organisms. We must also focus on stopping the potential import of infectious diseases in the context of increasing exchange with countries around the world.
Xu Jianguo, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and President of the CPCA, presented a report titled “Drink Boiled Water, Wash Hands Frequently, Eat Cooked Food, and Wear Masks”. Academician Xu emphasized in the report that we must be aware that with the advancement of economic globalization, and urbanization, that the threat of infectious diseases to humans has increased, not decreased. He calls on everyone to practice good hygienic routines such as drinking boiled water, to eat cooked food, to wash hands frequently and wear masks, and not to eat wild animals, in order to prevent infectious diseases from spreading. In addition, Prof. Zhang Jie, Professor of Renmin University of China, presented a report on “Thoughts on China’s Economic Situation and Suggestions for Service Industries during the Post-epidemic Period”, and Prof. Chow-Yang Lee, Professor of Urban Entomology Department at the University of California, gave a report on the “Impact of COVID-19 on the Global Pest Control Industry”. During the meeting, a short film titled “Heroes in the Chinese Pest Control Industry Who are at the Frontline Combating COVID -19” was released, and the latest industry-related technologies and new equipment were also announced.
During the period from June 19th to 21st, various breakout sessions, such as CEO Summit Forum, Wuhan’s War on Pandemic symposium, Expert Online Exchange, and High Profile Case Review session, were also held. At the same time, onthe-job training of disinfectants and professional training on rodent control techniques were also held online. The content of the event was extremely popular, with more than 220,000 people watching the conference online.
Since 1993, the CPCA has held annual meetings in different cities across the country. It has been 28 years since, and it has become the largest platform for the Chinese pest control industry. In 2020, due to the presence of the COVID-19, it was switched to an online format with a successful outcome, as evident by overwhelmingly positive feedback from the participants.