Patients allowed to leave as quarantine in hospitals lifted
THE 14-day quarantine at Renji Hospital’s west branch and Shanghai Cancer Center’s Xuhui District branch ended yesterday with patients and other people stuck inside allowed to leave.
The two hospitals were under the close-loop management after two workers were diagnosed with COVID-19 on January 21.
Normal operations will resume on February 8 at Renji and February 9 at the cancer center.
At 10am, around 30 Qiangsheng taxis lined up on the roads around Renji Hospital in Huangpu District to pick up discharged patients, a taxi driver surnamed Ding told Shanghai Daily.
Ding said the drivers had disinfected their cars and would do so again after each trip. According to Qiangsheng, more than 100 taxis took patients home yesterday.
Dazhong taxis waited outside the cancer center from noon.
Nearly 300 patients were discharged from Renji yesterday, the hospital said.
The first patient to walk out was a man from the Xinjiang
Uygur Autonomous Region, who underwent treatment for coronary heart disease. He plans to return home in time for the Spring Festival.
A family member of another patient, surnamed Huang, waited at the hospital’s entrance. She was informed at around midnight on Wednesday that families were now being allowed to visit patients.
“I need to go inside to help my father pack his bags. A relative will drive us home,” she said.
Her father, who is a heart patient, was to be transferred to another hospital on January 21. But because of COVID-19 restrictions, he had to stay at Renji for the past 14 days.
“The medical staff treated my dad carefully to control his disease. Fortunately, he can leave the hospital today for further treatment,” Huang said.
She was allowed inside after showing the negative results of her recent nucleic acid test and registering her information.
A man surnamed Zhang came to pick up his wife, who was receiving treatment for a thyroid tumor.
“During quarantine, I chatted with her and the medical staff via WeChat, and realized that her condition was good,”
Zhang said. “I want to thank all the hospital staff for everything they have done for my wife.”
Meanwhile, many medical workers arrived at the hospital with their luggage. They had been quarantined at designated hotels during the lockdown.
“We had no time to take our bags home,” said a doctor from Renji’s anesthesiology department.
The two hospitals are preparing to resume normal operations and will work on COVID-19 prevention and control, Wu Jinglei, director of Shanghai’s health commission, said yesterday.
Also, Wu Fan, deputy director of Fudan University’s medical college and a leading expert from Shanghai’s COVID-19 medical team, stressed the need to enhance virus prevention during the Spring Festival holiday that starts next week.
“The festival travel rush may increase the risk of infection,” she said.
The 40-day travel season started last Thursday. During the first six days, over 1.4 million people left the city, said Liu Bin, vice director of the local transport commission.
“The figure has fallen significantly, compared with 2019 and 2020,” Liu said. “All passengers will have their temperatures and health QR codes checked before they are allowed to board outstation public transport.”
Wu Fan emphasized that people must wear masks and gloves and keep social distance during the holiday.
“Chopsticks and spoons should be used during the reunion,” Wu Fan said. “After the dinner, all tableware should be disinfected,” she said.
“Anyone, who suffers from a loss of smell and taste, must go to the hospital for the nucleic acid test immediately by private transport,” she added.