Cancer center reopens its doors after lockdown
Decorations for the upcoming Spring Festival are seen on the window of the radiotherapy registration center in Shanghai Cancer Center's Xuhui branch on Tuesday.
Shanghai Cancer Center's Xuhui branch reopened on Tuesday at 8am.
The hospital was under closed-loop management after a worker tested positive for COVID-19 on January 21. Last Thursday, people quarantined in the hospital were able to leave after 14 days.
By Monday noon, more than 3,500 people had made appointments for outpatient services on Tuesday's reopening, a hospital official said.
According to an employee in the outpatient office, that number of appointments is normal.
“Everything goes smoothly in the hospital,” a patient surnamed Liu said.
Liu made an appointment on Saturday when the booking system for outpatient services restarted. She has melanoma and wanted to be treated before the upcoming Spring Festival.
People enter a room to show their green health QR codes and have their temperatures taken before going inside the Shanghai Cancer Center's Xuhui branch on Tuesday.
A security guard said every hospital building has only one entrance and one exit and other doors have been locked.
Serpentine passages to prevent crowds were set up around the hospital, including the front gate and windows for registration and payment. Rules for virus prevention remain intact, such as mask wearing, providing green health QR codes and having temperatures taken before entering the hospital.
A woman surnamed Dai helped her 70-year-old mother — who she thought should have been hospitalized for chemotherapy during the lockdown — through the admission procedure.
“I was worried about my mom because she wasn't able to get treatment during the lockdown,” Dai said. “Fortunately, I received a phone call from a doctor who told me she can be hospitalized today.”
After receiving negative nucleic acid test results, Dai and her mother entered the inpatient department.
“I know the hospital was locked down for two weeks, but I trust the city’s strict measures for coronavirus prevention and control," she said.
A patient locates her mold for radiotherapy in Shanghai Cancer Center's Xuhui branch on Tuesday.
In order for patients to be treated as quickly as possible, more than 50 medical workers in the radiotherapy center will work overtime during the upcoming holiday, except on Saturdays and Sundays, according to Xu Qing, the center's technical team leader.
“Two employees in the center even delayed their engagement parties,” Xu said.
More than 400 radiotherapy appointments have been made for the holiday.
Employees in the infusion center will also work overtime on Thursdays, Fridays and Mondays.
“We volunteered to work overtime because many patients have delayed treatments due to the quarantine,” a nurse in the infusion center said.
A patient receives radiotherapy on Tuesday, the first day after Shanghai Cancer Center's Xuhui branch reopens after a 14-day lockdown.
