Shanghai flare- up develops at ‘ high level,’ sees rising cases at construction sites

After more than one month’s fight against the Omicron variant, a Shanghai health official said on Sunday that the local epidemic is still developing at a high level, with more than 20,000 new infections and 39 new deaths being recorded the previous day.

Given this, health experts suggested the city conduct mass nucleic acid testing more frequently and on a wider scale to quickly discover new infections and prevent community infections.

Shanghai registered 1,401 local confirmed cases and 19,657 asymptomatic infections on Saturday, Zhang Dandan, deputy director of Shanghai Municipal Health Commission, said during a press briefing on Sunday, noting that the epidemic situation remains grim and complicated with the daily tally of new infections still high.

The epidemic is fluctuating at high levels with cluster infections at some construction sites and enterprises increasing amid business resumption, despite the fact that coronavirus infections at community level are dropping and more patients are being discharged from hospitals, Zhang said.

Usually, a local outbreak would start to quiet down after about one or two incubation periods ( seven to 14 days) following epidemic prevention and control management. If Shanghai still sees a high level of new infections, it might hint that community transmission is still quietly spreading in the city, said Lu Hongzhou, head of the Third People’s Hospital of Shenzhen.

Shanghai, the engine of China’s economic development, is ramping up business resumption, which is viewed by many observers as a trailblazing yet arduous pursuit to explore and redefine the delicate balance between epidemic control and economic activities.

Speaking of how to smoothly promote economic resumption while ensuring it would not worsen the epidemic, Lu suggested that Shanghai conduct mass nucleic acid tests more often and on a wider scale, especially at high- risk groups.

For example, for workers at construction sites, nucleic acid testing can be conducted every day to promptly detect potential infections and prevent cluster outbreaks, said Lu.

According to Zhang Dandan, 39 new deaths were registered in Shanghai on Saturday and a total of 160 severe cases and 19 critical cases were receiving treatment.

All these 87 cases had COVID- 19 combined with severe chronic diseases of multiple organs including advanced malignant tumors, serious cardiovascular disease and nervous system diseases. Except for five cases, most of these patients were not vaccinated and their conditions progressed rapidly after they were hospitalized.