City intensifies COVID-19 control measures
Nucleic acid tests for staff at Ruijin Hospital began on Thursday.
Shanghai is toughening measures to prevent and control COVID-19 after three locally transmitted cases were reported on Thursday, the city’s health commission told a press conference.
As the new cases were workers at hospitals, screening will particularly focus on high-risk groups such as medical workers and cold-chain transport staff who will required to take nucleic tests regularly based on their risk of exposure to the virus.
Fever clinics and nucleic acid test institutes across the city will also be further developed to form an efficient screening network.
Wu Jinglei, director of Shanghai Health Commission, said the city currently had 126 nucleic acid test centers in Shanghai, with a daily capacity of 728,000 people.
Apart from intensified screening, health checks at key locations including airports and piers will be strengthened. Unnecessary travel outside the city is not recommended to reduce mobility during the Spring Festival.
Dr Zhang Wenhong, the city’s top infectious disease expert and leader of its COVID-19 treatment team, said he didn’t think there would be a huge outbreak in the city and was confident in Shanghai’s ability to cope with new cases.
“This is not a random event, as many provinces across the nation have reported new cases recently,” said Zhang. “But we have reacted both in-time and effectively to cope with the virus.”
Zhang said a quick response in containing the spreading of virus was pivotal and called for joint efforts of society.
“The close contacts of the infected cases are so far negative, which means people have been following health protocols carefully, such as wearing masks, washing hands and social distancing,” he said.
Nucleic acid tests on medical workers are carried out at Huashan Hospital on Thursday.
The city’s major medical institutes began mass nucleic testing for staff on Thursday morning.
Ruijin Hospital in Xuhui District began its sampling at around 11am on personnel including medical staff, workers and administration workers. A total of 15,000 are expected to have received tests by Friday.
Chen Erzhen, deputy president of the hospital, said an emergency team for nucleic acid screening was established overnight.
Huashan Hospital in Jing'an District has set up temporary tents for screening. About 120 workers will take samples from over 10,000 people in the hospital including staff, workers, patients and family members of patients.
Other medical institutes, including the city’s mental health center, have also been arranging nucleic acid tests for medical staff and workers.
The two hospitals with new cases, Renji Hospital's Puxi branch on Shandong Road M. and Shanghai Cancer Center's Xuhui branch on Dong'an Road, have both carried out epidemiological investigations and closed-loop management after the suspension of their outpatient services.
To ensure radiotherapy and chemotherapy services for patients, the cancer center will arrange schedules for those with negative test results at its Pudong wing.
Currently, over 6,000 medical personnel at the two hospitals have been screened, with no suspected symptoms reported.
Medical workers at Ruijin Hospital queue up a meter apart to receive their nucleic acid test.
