Reports indicate that Inner Mongolia's emergency management authority is trying to prevent the further spread of pneumonic plague, including by establishing a “firewall” for those leaving the region, after reports earlier this month of two pneumonic cases and a bubonic plague case originating in the region sparked panic. Emergency measures also include bolstering epidemic early warning systems, medical screenings and outbound traffic inspections, according to a plague prevention plan released by the Inner Mongolia autonomous region’s emergency leading group. Documents show there were early warnings of a “fierce” plague epidemic in rodents, starting as early as in mid-August in the Sonid Left Banner region, where the couple contracted pneumonic plague.