China’s new coronavirus battlegrounds
2nd BATTLEGROUND 1
After Wuhan, capital city of Central China’s Hubei Province hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic in the country, lifted its city lockdown after 76 days in isolation to contain the novel coronavirus spread, China officially entered the next stage of combating the virus. How can growing risks from imported infections and a possible rebound in domestic cases be prevented? How can production and social activity be gradually restored while the risk of a second outbreak is controlled? How can the world’s factory regain its momentum amid shrinking external demand due to the virus spread? This is the first part of a three-part series featuring the new challenges China faces in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since China reported its first imported novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19)
high alert.”
China’s State Council on Wednesday published new regulations on the management of silent coronavirus carriers, specifying that the group are infectious and have risks of transmission.
The regulations standardize the process of reporting silent carriers, requiring nationwide medical institutes to report them within two hours via the internet after discovering any such case.
A total of 24 asymptomatic patients have been reported on Wednesday in Hubei Province, which administrates Wuhan.
Mass detection
Wuhan local Zhang Kaiyue told the Global Times that more than 1,000 workers in her company, which has 1,500 employees in total were arranged to do nucleic acid tests on Thursday, the first day of work resumption.
“It mainly targets asymptomatic patients. We need to do nucleic acid tests twice, or combine such tests with CT scans because our boss believes one nucleic acid test alone is not accurate,” said Zhang, noting that it is simple and quick to get tested in the hospital, “half an hour for queuing and testing on average, and you get the result the next day.”
As Wuhan eased lockdowns and many in the city returned to offices on Wednesday, long lines in front of hospitals were seen across the city. Many of those who came back to work wanted to test for coronavirus in fear of spreading it among their colleagues and those who they rub shoulders with.
Wang Hui, deputy head of Wuhan’s Wuchang district health commission told the Global Times that many of the district’s silent carriers were detected among close contacts of confirmed patients, and the number is relatively small.
“Now Wuhan residents are very cautious regarding the viral contagion. They won’t stay home hopeful for recovery after they find abnormalities in their health conditions, like they did in January. Most patients with fever will apply for tests in hospitals; now, even seemingly healthy people want to test themselves, which helps us find asymptomatic patients,” said Wang.
Ever since Wuhan began recording asymptomatic patients, more communities have begun to tighten virus prevention policies, and even re-impose previous lockdown policies.
Wang Qianlin who lives in a community in Wuhan’s Qiaokou district comes downstairs only to get deliveries sent to him between the community’s rust steel gate. “For a short time in early March we were allowed to go out, but all of sudden it closed again after an asymptomatic patient was reported here,” said Wang, noting that now he was told only one family member is allowed to go downstairs once a day.
Asymptomatic patients were infected at the same time as patients with obvious symptoms, said Zhang Wenhong, head of Shanghai’s COVID-19 clinical expert team. So if China doesn’t see drastic increases of confirmed cases within two to four weeks, the risk of asymptomatic patients can be whisked off.
Zhang said that Wuhan is perhaps the “safest city in China now,” as many people in the city may already have developed immune defenses against the virus. But he stressed it is only an assumption.
Walking on thin ice
Wuhan locals often joke, you can forget putting on clothes, but you can’t forget your phone with your “green code” in it.
“Green codes” have dominated Wuhan residents’ lives throughout the pandemic. Every public place, residential community, shopping mall and office building has its own code for entrants and leavers to scan; one will only be allowed to enter or exit the building after showing a green code, and having their temperature scanned.
In Wuhan’s busiest business district, Wuhan International Plaza Shopping Center, 29-year-old Zhang, wearing medical gloves, was carefully squeezing disinfectant out of a small bottle on a public bench wiping a “clean” spot for herself before sitting down.
“Yes, Wuhan’s coronavirus cases have dropped drastically; and yes the city lifted the lockdown. But I think we should be more cautious than before to protect ourselves. Now nothing soothes me more than a face mask, a bottle of liquid soap and the smell of alcoholic disinfectant,” said Zhang.