As the annual national college entrance examination approaches, authorities in North China's Shanxi province have issued notices to students on their self-protection during the novel coronavirus pandemic prevention and control period.

The Shanxi Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention suggests that students maintain their usual dietary habits, with hygienic and balanced nutrition as the premise.

They should eat an appropriate amount of food and supplement with sufficient water, to ensure they are in the best physical condition for the examination.

Officials said the Shanxi Provincial Enrollment and Examination Management Center is also reminding examinees to strengthen their individual precautionary measures on the way from their residence to the test centers -- and to avoid social gatherings unrelated to the exam. 

Examinees are being required to conduct self-temperature measurements 14 days prior to the exam day, truthfully fill out temperature record forms with their and their guardians' signatures, submit the forms to invigilators and show their ID cards for health status reporting and identification when entering the exam rooms.

They should also wear masks when entering the test sites and take temperature measurement and those with a temperature over 37.3 C must obey the instructions of test staff members. In addition, it is necessary to avoid close contact between students.

Officials said that 325,675 students in Shanxi province will sit this year's national college entrance exam on July 7-8.