Nucleic acid tests required for Wuhan arrivals

Residents wait in line to take nucleic acid tests for COVID-19 in Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University in Wuhan, capital of Hubei Province, yesterday, a requirement for many locals before they are allowed to go back to work as the city lifts the monthslong lockdown today. Xinhua

Wuhan natives coming to Shenzhen that hold a green health QR code need to go through two separate nucleic acid tests but will not be placed under a 14-day quarantine, as the mandatory two-and-a-half month lockdown on the provincial capital of Hubei Province, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in China, is lifted today.

In the coronavirus fight, China has assigned citizens colored QR codes — green, yellow or red — that will indicate whether they are at risk of contracting the coronavirus and need to self-quarantine.

The green-code holders from Wuhan are required to take the first nucleic test in Wuhan before departure and will be required to take a makeup test if they are found of having not done that after arriving in Shenzhen, Luo Lexuan, director with the Shenzhen Public Health Commission, said at a Shenzhen Radio program yesterday. The second test will be done seven days after their arrival.

All Hubei natives that hold a red or yellow health QR code will be put under a centralized quarantine for medical observation and must take a nucleic test after coming to Shenzhen. Nucleic tests for Hubei natives from other regions than Wuhan with a green code are not compulsory, according to Luo.

The test-takers will have to pay their own expenses if they are not covered by medical insurance, as per Luo.

People tested positive, whether or not they have symptoms of coronavirus infections, will be transferred to Shenzhen No. 3 People’s Hospital for treatment.

On Sunday, Bao’an District was raised to the level of medium-risk by Guangdong’s health authorities because it had reported a confirmed coronavirus case involving a patient from Hubei Province within the past 14 days.

According to Luo, cases coming from Chinese mainland cities to Shenzhen are registered as local cases, while cases brought from overseas are registered as imported cases.

By Monday, the city had reported 24 asymptomatic cases including 13 imported cases.

A People’s Daily report, quoting Yang Jiong, a professor with Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, said yesterday that a three-day census showed the number of asymptomatic patients took 0.15-0.3 percent of the total patients in Wuhan. Based on this estimation, there are around 10,000-20,000 infections in Wuhan without symptoms.

The lockdown of Wuhan, which was imposed Jan. 23, will be lifted today. Transportation in the city will resume and people in Wuhan will be allowed to leave the city.

Starting from today, high-speed trains and flights between Shenzhen and Wuhan will gradually resume operations.

Trains from Wuhan to Wenzhou, Ningbo, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Shenzhen, Chongqing, Fuzhou, Nanning, Xi’an and Kunming resume services starting from today, statistics from www.12306.cn, the official website of China Railway Group.

Trains G77 and G78, G1005, G554 and G1007 between Shenzhen and Hubei will resume today and tomorrow.

Some trains passing Wuhan, including G1028/9, G1038/5 between Shenzhen and Yichang in Hubei Province, G551 between Shenzhen and Luohe in Henan Province, and two more trains G1014 and G1020 between Shenzhen and Wuhan will resume service starting from tomorrow.

Flights linking Wuhan with 30 domestic cities, including Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hangzhou and Chengdu, will gradually resume starting from today. Tickets for flights from Shenzhen to Wuhan operated by the China Southern Airlines and Shenzhen Airlines are available.

The China Southern Airlines will resume three flights from Wuhan to Shenzhen on a daily basis starting from today, departing at 8:05 a.m., 12:35 p.m. and 4 p.m. Starting from Saturday, another flight will be added, and starting from April 13, the airline company will resume the flight operating at 8:10 p.m. every Monday. The airfare for economy seats stand at 1,600-1,900 yuan (US$229-271).