Resurgence focus is on Baoshan
CARGO truck drivers and delivery staff, whose services are closely linked to residents’ daily life, are among the many new COVID-19 infections detected in Shanghai’s north Baoshan District in the last three days, the district government said yesterday.
Baoshan has been severely affected since its first COVID19 positive case of the latest resurgence was detected on July 4, according to Meng Qingyuan, deputy director of the suburban district.
“Since then, multiple transmission chains have been traced within Baoshan, including the remaining one related to the logistics and delivery sectors,” he told the city’s COVID-19 press briefing.
The district has designated six medium-risk blocks in four towns and subdistricts — Yuepu, Gucun, Yanghang and Zhangmiao — where the infected truck drivers or delivery staff had been to.
Industry associations have urged warehouse and logistic firms in Baoshan to conduct “closed-loop” management of their staff, who must have a 24-hour polymerase chain reaction test report to leave or enter the workplaces, Meng said.
Companies, supermarkets and malls within the medium-risk areas are subject to a week-long lockdown.
The risky groups are under PCR screening and no positive case has been detected so far.
Meng believed that such
lockdown and control measures will achieve zero infections in the district soon.
A wide range of screening and control measures have been launched in Baoshan over the weekend to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
Three infections from a quarantine site in the district have been confirmed as the highly-contagious Omicron BA.5 sub-variant.
Every resident is subject to three-day nucleic acid testing from Sunday. The Baoshan government has asked residents to reduce dining at restaurants or gathering in public places.
Some eateries, cinemas and enclosed venues have been closed temporarily.
Baoshan reported another asymptomatic community COVID-19 case yesterday.
The new infection, aged 38 years, lives in Baoshan’s Luojing Town. He had tested negative in five previous nucleic acid tests last week, but got an abnormal result during the next community screening, according to the suburban district government.
His accommodation — a community of more than 2,700 residents — has become a high-risk area. He had been
to several office buildings in Baoshan and Jiading districts as well as a noodles restaurant and a warehouse in Baoshan in the last two weeks.
A total of 151 close contacts of the new case had been traced as of yesterday afternoon and they have been put under central quarantine. More than 280,000 related people are under screening, according to the Shanghai Health Commission.
There are currently six high-risk areas and about 60 medium-risk areas across Shanghai. Eight among these will be downgraded today.