BEIJING -- Lawmakers spoke highly of the implementation of the country's infectious disease prevention and control law during panel discussions at the ongoing session of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee on Thursday.

The lawmakers held the discussions while deliberating a report based on a round of inspections conducted by the top legislature between May and July in eight provincial-level regions that was submitted to the NPC Standing Committee Tuesday.

Li Rui, a lawmaker, said an efficient system of infectious disease prevention and control had been set up in recent years. "Public health care infrastructure has been continuously improved, and effective steps such as immunization programs have also been taken."

The lawmakers offered advice concerning a number of challenges mentioned in the report, such as higher dissemination risks due to increased population mobility, deficient quarantine and monitoring on transportation of live animals and birds, and insufficient efforts to curb sexually transmitted diseases spread through unprotected sex.

"Prevention and control at primary-level should be strengthened," said Jia Ting'an, a legislator, who suggested that medical personnel at primary-level institutions should be better trained and, operations should be well regulated to improve warnings for infectious diseases.

"Prevention and control of zoonoses, which were involved in several epidemics in recent years, should be placed high in our work," said Li Xueyong, a lawmaker.

"Education regarding the law on infectious disease prevention and control also needs to be provided to a wider range of people," Li said.

Official data showed that a total of 19,796 people died from infectious diseases on the Chinese mainland in 2017.

The infectious disease prevention and control law was enacted in 1989 and revised in 2004 and 2013.