Overseas arrivals face tough test
Print Edition
SHANGHAI announced yesterday that all arriving international passengers will have to undergo nucleic acid test as the city looks to improve prevention and control of the novel coronavirus at local airports.
The new measure, starting from today, will expand a program that previously only applied to those coming from 24 heavily hit countries, no matter their nationality, the city’s health commission said yesterday.
Japan was taken out from the key countries list while the Philippines was added from today.
Wu Jinglei, director of the commission, said they have dispatched teams of experienced nurses to local ports to help customs officers take samples. All city labs are concentrating on nucleic acid tests.
Local customs doubled its number of officers at airports and is taking stricter measures. Customs officers will also board flights from countries other than the 24, take each passenger’s temperature and learn their travel history for their health declaration cards.
Shanghai first imposed a home quarantine mechanism for international arrivals from badly hit countries at the beginning of March. After arriving at temporary observation sites in each district, passengers underwent nucleic acid tests. Only those testing negative were escorted to their residences by district officials to undergo 14-day quarantine. Those with fever or other obvious symptoms were sent to hospital by ambulance.
A senior civil affairs official told a press conference yesterday that Shanghai will further enhance information registration and screening of people arriving in the city from hard-hit countries by neighborhood and village committees.
“Preventing the spread of coronavirus via imported cases is the priority now, requiring stricter home quarantine measures at communities,” said Zeng Qun, deputy director of Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau.
Home quarantine measures at residential communities are the same for both Chinese and foreigners, he said. People who develop symptoms are sent to designated medical centers.
People quarantined at home are required not to stay in the same apartment as those who don’t need to be quarantined. Only if they promise to quarantine themselves together, will they be allowed to share the same apartment.
Strict home quarantine management will ensure that those quarantined for 14 days do not leave home, Zeng stressed.
People breaking quarantine will be held responsible.
Shanghai reported 14 new confirmed imported COVID-19 cases on Saturday, bringing the total number to 56. Among the 14 cases, three were from the United States, eight from Britain, two from Spain and one from Switzerland.
Meanwhile, 26 suspected imported cases are undergoing checks, the commission said.
Among the new cases, two Israeli brothers, who had traveled in the US, left Los Angeles on March 18 and arrived at Pudong airport the next day via Taipei.
The third is an American, who left Minnesota on March 17 and arrived at Pudong airport on March 19 via Tokyo.
Of the eight arrivals from the UK, six are from Chinese mainland who studied in the UK and traveled to the city from London. The seventh is a Macau native, who made a business trip to the UK and left London on March 17 and arrived at Hongqiao airport on March 19 via Hong Kong.
A Canadian, who studied in the UK, left London on March 18 and arrived at Pudong airport the next day via Tokyo. The person was sent to a designated hospital for showing symptoms upon arrival.
The Spain cases are a couple, both Zhejiang Province natives, who worked in that country. They left Madrid on March 17 and arrived at Pudong airport the next day via Hong Kong.
The 14th case is a German, who visited family in Switzerland. The person left Zurich on March 19 and arrived at the Pudong airport via Bangkok on March 20 and was under quarantine upon arrival.
All the patients have been transferred to the designated hospital for treatment and 120 close contacts on their flights have been tracked down and put under quarantine.
There were no new local cases reported on Saturday. So far, there have been 338 local cases reported and no new cases for 19 consecutive days.
One more patient was discharged upon recovery, and another patient died despite medical treatment.
The new fatality was a 75-year-old man who was already suffering from bladder cancer. He started to experience breath failure while being hospitalized on February 1 and was critical. He was pronounced dead on Saturday morning.
Currently, 63 patients are hospitalized, including 55 imported cases. Fifty-five are stable, one in serious condition and seven are critical.
So far, 327 people have been discharged upon recovery. There are four local fatalities.
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