5 measures were put forward by Guangzhou Municipal Health Commission on December 1, after the capital city of Guangdong Province announced to further optimize its COVID control measures on November 30.
What are the changes in epidemiological investigation and monitoring after Guangzhou's optimizing of the epidemic control and prevention measures? What should residents focus on in the next step? What should be done after detecting a positive result in self-testing?
Guangzhou's medical experts shared their views on concerns for residents in an interview with GDToday on December 4.
Photo taken to show temporary control lifted and traffic resumed at Haizhu Bridge. (Photo: Steven Yuen)
Prioritize the screening of close contacts with greater infection risk
According to Zhang Zhoubin, the Secretary of the Party Committee of Guangzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the approach to epidemiological surveys has also been adjusted after the optimization. Now, priority is given to close contacts with higher infection risks, which refer to the people who work, eat, and live together with positive cases.
"As the number of infected cases increased, we modified the strategy of epidemiological investigation. More attention will be paid to eight key places, such as schools, elderly care institutions, maternal and childcare service institutions, etc. They are likely to become epidemic amplifiers," said Zhang Zhoubin.
Zhang noted, the most important thing in the prevention and control of infectious diseases is monitoring. "Although mass nucleic acid testing has been canceled, it is still required to conduct nucleic acid tests in key locations and among key individuals," said Zhang.
Meanwhile, the hidden transmission chains in society must be discovered through monitoring. According to the ninth edition of China's COVID-19 control protocols, residents coming to Guangzhou from other regions need to conduct nucleic acid tests after arriving. As the domestic epidemic situation remains severe, residents arriving from other regions should receive three nucleic acid tests in three days, with no gatherings or group dining.
Zhang Zhoubin reminds us that if residents test positive with antigen reagents, there is no need to worry. Instead, residents should report to the community immediately. The community will inform the CDC and conduct subsequent measures.
The first batch of inhaled COVID-19 vaccines arrives in Guangzhou
The inhaled COVID-19 vaccines have recently received a lot of attention from residents. Zhang Chunhuan, Deputy Director of the Immunization Planning Department of Guangzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention replied that the production of inhaled vaccines is enough to meet residents' demand.
Zhang revealed that the first batch of inhaled vaccines had just arrived in Guangzhou a few days ago and in the next step, each district will gradually provide these vaccines for residents. "In my opinion, we have the conditions and the ability to meet the need for mass vaccination," he said.
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Author | Steven Yuen, Hannah Zhou, He Yang (intern)
Editor | Wing Zhang, Jerry Grey
