Diligent local CDC staff working round the clock

STAFF from local centers for disease control and prevention are working day and night in the fight against coronavirus.

Laboratories doing nucleic acid testing on samples from suspected patients are operating 24 hours to ensure that each is checked promptly.

“We are divided into different groups and each group has to stay in the lab for six hours, during which we should wear protective outfits and can’t eat, drink or go to the toilet,” said Gao Wei, a lab technician at Yangpu District Center for Disease Control and Prevention. “It takes about 30 minutes to put on and take off the protective outfit, and it must be disposed of when we leave the lab.”

Gao said she drove home to Taizhou, Jiangsu Province, on Friday for Chinese New Year Eve. “But I was informed that more samples were sent to the lab and I felt I must return. I drove back the next morning and I found all my colleagues had come back, too,” she said.

Most of Gao’s colleagues returned from their hometowns early or cancelled travel plans during the Spring Festival. Some of them even work upward of 48 hours at a time, with a little break, to do epidemiological research on suspected cases, do training and public education, launch risk evaluations at hospitals and conduct disinfection at the homes of suspected or confirmed patients.

“Our epidemiological team is on standby round the clock,” said Lu Xiaoyan, director of Yangpu CDC’s disinfection and pest control department. “We received an order just now about a new confirmed patient. Our staff will go to the patient’s home immediately to do disinfection. We will disinfect all items that the patient may touch to prevent the spread of the virus and tell family members how to protect themselves.”

Two Yangpu CDC officials also visited the fever clinic of Yangpu District Central Hospital. They carefully checked how the hospital receives and treats patients with suspected coronavirus infection. This includes how patients are escorted around clinic premises, and whether all staff wear appropriate protective gear.

“When we receive a report of a suspected case from a hospital, we will go to check the whole process of diagnosis and treatment to prevent infection,” said Jin Yuqin, a CDC official. “We offer our suggestions to help hospitals perfect their infection control.”

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