Shanghai to ensure all residents tested

Shanghai has put forward measures to ensure all of the city's residents are screened and promised better medical resource allocation and protection of the health of the city's healthcare workers, the city's health commission said at a news briefing on Friday.

Residents who haven't been tested for COVID-19 since March 16 were urged to have a swab taken as soon as possible as part of the city's screening strategy to curb the current outbreak, which has caused more than 7,000 new infections since March 1, according to the commission.

"We're grateful that residents have been supportive. Those who missed their COVID-19 tests during the current campaign of grid screenings are required to complete at least one test by 6 pm Friday," said Wu Jinglei, director of the commission.

"Those who fail to do so will receive a yellow health QR code. The codes can only turn green in 24 hours after the residents finish the tests at hospitals, health institutions or test stations in their neighborhoods," he added.

Shanghai has adopted the strategy of grid screening to curb the current wave of COVID-19 in the city. The city categorized communities into grids based on their level of exposure risk to the virus. Nucleic acid tests have been rotating through the city by the grids. Neighborhoods undertaking screening tests are placed under closed-loop management.

According to the health commission, the city completed more than 30 million tests between March 18 and 20. While the majority of the city's communities have been released from closed-loop management, testing was continuing in some neighborhoods considered at higher risk of exposure to the virus. More than 2.7 million tests were conducted between March 24 and 25, Wu said.

In light of the local challenges caused by the current outbreak, Zhang Wenhong, head of the infectious disease department at Fudan University's Huashan Hospital in Shanghai, reiterated the significance of an efficient testing strategy with full cooperation from the public and strengthened neighborhood management.

"The continuously surging number of new COVID-19 infections in Shanghai has imposed a heavy burden on local medical systems,"Zhang said. "However, if we put the number aside, the core challenge we are facing is whether the situation is controllable, despite the ever-evolving and highly transmissible virus."

However, Zhang said that the percentage of new infections among people not in quarantined areas has dropped to about 10 percent, which proved the city's grid screening strategy has been effective.

"If the percentage continues to drop, the turning point is sure to arrive," Zhang said.

"Time, patience, courage and wisdom are inseparable to win the fight against COVID-19, along with contributing factors such as residents' cooperation," he added.

The municipal health authority also highlighted its dedication to providing better medical resource allocation and protection of the health of the city's healthcare workers following the death of a nurse on Wednesday.

Zhou Shengni, a nurse from Shanghai East Hospital affiliated with Tongji University, had an asthma attack at home on March 23, according to a statement by the hospital. When symptoms could not be relieved by home treatment, her family members drove her to the hospital. But the hospital's emergency department was not able to take her in as it was temporarily closed for environmental sampling and disinfection. Zhou was later sent to the East Branch of Renji Hospital, which is about nine kilometers away, but she died.

"We expressed our heartfelt condolences to the nurse's family," said Wu.

"Healthcare workers on the front line have been through a continuous, tough campaign against COVID-19 since 2020, especially during the current wave in March. Enhanced care and support will be offered to those dedicated to COVID-19 prevention. In addition, we will strengthen the allocation of medical resources to minimize the impact of epidemiological investigation and environmental disinfection on the continuity of essential health services to the public," Wu said.