North China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region will set up at least three spare rooms for quarantines at each site for the annual gaokao, or national college entrance examination, according to information released by the Inner Mongolia Admissions and Exam Information Center.

If candidates suddenly have fever, cough and other symptoms while their over health condition still qualifies them to participate in the exam -- after careful investigation and findings are made -- they will be placed in the quarantine rooms to continue their exams.

The delayed time in the process of transferring the candidates to the quarantine examination rooms will be made up later.

Officials said the arrangement is a precautionary move made by Inner Mongolia to prevent a potential spread of the novel coronavirus epidemic, while guaranteeing the gaokao goes ahead in an orderly manner.

Meanwhile, to strengthen epidemic prevention and control and improve the efficiency of identity authentication, the control of candidate admissions will be changed from finger verifications to face recognition technology. 

Officials said that equipment distribution, training and testing have been completed for the changeover.

This year’s gaokao will take place over three days, from June 7 to 9.

A total of 163,812 candidates in Inner Mongolia will take their tests at the autonomous region’s 184 examination sites.