SZ enhances rapid response capabilities amid fresh outbreak

Shenzhen has endeavored to reinforce its capabilities in response to the latest COVID-19 outbreak mainly caused by the highly contagious Omicron subvariant BA.5, which has posed more severe challenges to the city’s COVID prevention and control work, according to a press conference yesterday.

Lin Hancheng, a senior health official with the municipal health commission, said at the conference that Shenzhen has put forward higher, faster and stricter requirements for the emergency response to the epidemic situation, epidemiological investigations, and prevention and control of hospital infections in view of the mutant strain’s characteristics.

The city has also taken comprehensive measures in border control, cross-border cargo transportation, screening of inbound travelers from medium- and high-risk areas, and the prevention of epidemic spillover.

“Shenzhen will continue to improve the risk analysis, monitoring and early-warning capabilities of epidemiological investigation centers at the municipal and district levels, speed up the transfer of close contacts and positive infections, and reduce the risk of secondary infections in communities,” Lin said.

In addition, the city will further improve its sewage nucleic acid monitoring network and adopt health management measures on personnel in buildings where the sewage tests positive for COVID.

Lin added that relevant districts and subdistricts have set up hotlines and organized special teams to help affected citizens in purchasing daily necessities.

Xu Wei, deputy head of the city’s transport bureau, said that passengers need to present negative 48-hour nucleic acid test results or a 24-hour COVID test record when taking public transport in the city at present.

As of 12 p.m. yesterday, the city had two out-of-service bus routes while another 217 bus routes had skipped stops. A total of 29 Metro stations had suspended services, according to Xu.

The supplies of vegetables, meat, rice, flour, grain, edible oil and other daily necessities in the city are sufficient and food prices are stable, according to Zhou Mingwu, deputy head of the city’s commerce bureau.

The city reported 11 locally transmitted confirmed COVID cases and six asymptomatic infections from 12:01 a.m. to 12 p.m. yesterday.