Smaller cities battle Omicron under medical, financial pressure
Adjustment of protocols leads to scientific methods
The latest COVID- 19 flare- ups have hit smaller cities in some provinces such as East China’s Anhui and Northwest China’s Gansu, showing a rising risk, as smaller regions face greater challenge due to limited medical resources and increasing financial pressure.
The country on Tuesday reported nearly 1,000 local COVID- 19 positive cases. A total of 30 cases were detected in large cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin, while the rest of the cases were reported in other provincial- level regions including Anhui, Gansu, South China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Central China’s Henan Province, according to the National Health Commission on Wednesday.
With a population of over 935,000, Huaiyuan county in the city of Bengbu, Anhui has been under temporary sealed- off management since July 15 as the county detected 151 positive cases during a nucleic acid screening on July 14. The county has detected over 300 positive cases within only four days.
A local resident from the city of Bengbu told the Global Times that they were concerned when they first heard the news, but later they were relieved as the risk- free regions in the city are still open to free movement under epidemic prevention measures.
In response to the county’s unscientific practice of using peracetic acid to spray roads, the authorities also said on Tuesday that they had made corrections and will follow the latest protocols on disinfection to further strengthen the training and supervision.
The county has a maximum testing capacity of 5,000 tubes per day, up to 100,000 times for nucleic acid testing, according to the authorities. Other cities in Anhui dispatched medical personnel and facilities to support the daily testing.
Small cities are limited by resources, funds and other factors, and they are less capable of implementing epidemic prevention and control compared with large cities, said Lu Hongzhou, head of the Third People’s Hospital of Shenzhen.
The lack of vigilance in COVID- 19 in some local medical institutions may lead them to miss opportunities for “early detection, early reporting, early diagnosis and early quarantine,” thus increasing the risk of the virus spreading, Lu said.
Moreover, the relatively weak awareness of COVID- 19 prevention in small cities or counties and outdated health infrastructure in some areas can’t meet the needs of infectious disease prevention and control, according to Lu.
“The precise adjustment of the protocols does not mean the relaxation of the COVID- 19 prevention and control policy, but it is more scientific and accurate, which aims to further release medical resources and reduce the impact on people’s normal lives, achieving maximum control effect with minimum cost,” Lu said.