Shanghai now low-risk, outbreak under control
SHANGHAI downgraded the last medium-risk area to lowrisk for the coronavirus after a resurgence of the disease in the city was brought under control.
Following the downgrade, the entire city of Shanghai is deemed low-risk for the epidemic, according to the city’s COVID-19 prevention and control group.
Lockdown on the Xingaoyuan Phase I residential complex in Gaodong Township in the Pudong New Area was lifted at midnight today.
It was listed as a mediumrisk area on February 5 after a resident was confirmed with COVID-19.
Family members waited anxiously outside the compound before the lockdown was lifted as some of them were separated for 14-days, and right in the middle of the Spring Festival.
A man surnamed Ma was waiting for his wife.
“This has been the longest period of time we have been away from each other. And when it is Spring Festival, it feels something was missing,” Ma said.
There were around 3,500 residents quarantined in the complex.
They cooperated with 100 medical workers from the Shanghai Seventh People’s Hospital for medical screening.
After three rounds of nucleic acid tests for the virus, all of them returned negative.
At midnight, residents who have been cooped up for 14 days poured out of the complex.
Zhou waited with a bouquet of flowers and hugged her husband, who had volunteered to work in the locked-down complex.
Bai Bo, a police officer who was dispatched to help with the operation in the complex, said everything worked smoothly and residents were cooperative.
“I did chores like feeding pet cats after their owners were locked outside,” Bai said.
Wang and his father came outside the complex with their dog. They wanted to walk the dog as soon as the quarantine was lifted.
“This is an exciting experience,” the man said. “Though it was regrettable that my family had to celebrate the Spring Festival in the complex, it was heartwarming when we received a package of rice and snacks from the community as a festival gift.”
Since January 21, Shanghai has recorded 22 locally transmitted COVID-19 cases, according to Shanghai Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
The city will continue to implement regular prevention and control measures, the center said.
The CDC emphasized that residents should wear masks, wash hands frequently, keep a social distance from others and avoid visiting crowded places.