Hospital and airport work to fight virus

Pudong New Area People’s Hospital is taking responsibility for passenger screening, checking and transferring if suspected cases are detected.

As a designated hospital for coronavirus prevention and control and the nearest medical facility to Pudong International Airport, the hospital is cooperating with the airport.

Since January 24, it has been sending teams there to work around the clock at medical observation spots to recheck temperatures.

“Temperature rechecking looks like an easy job, but it requires a high focus for not missing any suspicious hints and not missing any suspected cases,” said Cai Li, a nurse at the scene. “In addition, we also conduct health education and tell passengers the proper way to wear masks and wash their hands and instruct them how to register health information with the special app.”

If a passenger is detected with high temperature after double checks and comes from or has visited Hubei Province within the past 14 days, members will enact an emergency system to call for an ambulance with negative-pressure equipment and send the passenger to the hospital’s fever clinic for further diagnosis and checks.

Hospital officials said the medical spots can help detect suspected cases earlier and prevent a possible virus spread by blocking passengers from entering the city. At the same time, a mechanism for patient screening, classification and suspected patient observation had been established for epidemic prevention and control.