City adopts classified COVID control measures
Shenzhen has decided to adopt classified COVID-19 control measures from 12:01 a.m. today as the number of new COVID cases detected in communities has seen a significant decline so far, according to a press conference held last night.
A press conference on the adoption of classified COVID-19 control measures across Shenzhen is held at the Civic Center in Futian District yesterday. Shenzhen Government Online
The temporary control measures for COVID prevention and control will be lifted if there were no community COVID cases found in subdistricts for three consecutive days from Friday to Sunday.
In subdistricts where there were community COVID cases found between Friday and Sunday, the temporary control measures will be extended for three days from the date of the last positive case reported. Since Nanyuan Subdistrict in Futian District has a relatively large number of new positive cases, it will continue to implement management as a medium-risk area.
Nanshan District
The temporary control measures, which include staying at home, will remain in effect in Shekou Subdistrict (except existing high- and medium-risk areas) from Sept. 5 to Sept. 7, according to Nanshan authority. The temporary control measures will be lifted for other parts of Nanshan (except existing high- and medium-risk areas).
Futian District
The temporary control measures will continue to remain in place in Fubao and Futian subdistricts (except Fu'an Community) from Sept. 5 to Sept. 7, and in Lianhua Subdistrict (except Fuzhong Community) from Sept. 5 to Sept. 6, according to a notice from the Futian authority.
Luohu District
In Luohu District, the temporary control measures will remain to be effective in Dongmen Subdistrict and Songyuan Community in Guiyuan Subdistrict from Sept. 5 to Sept. 6, as well as the area enclosed by Renmin Road South, Luoxiao No. 3 Street, Jianshe Road and Luoxiao No. 4 Road in Nanhu Subdistrict from Sept. 5 to Sept. 7.
Longhua District
In Longhua District, the temporary control measures will remain in place in Minzhi and Longhua subdistricts (except Fukang and Qinghu communities) from Sept. 5 Sept. 7, and in Langkou Community and Dalang Community in Dalang Subdistrict from Sept. 5 to Sept 6.
Longgang District
In Longgang District, the temporary control measures will remain in Henggang Subdistrict from Sept. 5 to Spet. 6.
Bao'an District
The temporary control measures will be lifted from Spet. 5.
An entrance to the Lianhuayicun Housing Estate in Futian District is seen closed Saturday. Wang Haolan
In subdistricts where temporary control measures are imposed, all residents are required to stay at home except when they take nucleic acid tests, take out garbage, seek emergency medical treatment and collect deliveries. All takeaways and deliveries are not allowed to enter housing compounds and urban villages and should be placed at designated collection locations.
All buses and Metro services will be suspended in the subdistricts with temporary control measures in force.
Lin Hancheng, a senior health official from the municipal health commission, said at the conference that although the city’s COVID situation is complex at present, the overall situation is turning for the better.
In another development, Lu Hongzhou, president of the Third People’s Hospital of Shenzhen, said at a press conference Saturday that the fast-spreading Omicron subvariant BA.5 has stronger replication and transmission abilities than its close relative BA.2.
The BA.5 subvariant has become the most prevalent COVID strain in the world since it appeared at the end of 2021. It is also the main culprit of the recent COVID outbreak in Shenzhen, according to Lu.
“Studies also showed that the BA.5 subvariant can enter a host cell within a few minutes. Once it infects the cells in the upper respiratory tract, it replicates exponentially. After 12-24 hours, it releases mature virus particles in the infected cells, which is commonly referred to as viral shedding and can spread through droplets,” Lu said.
The city reported 18 locally transmitted confirmed COVID cases and 10 asymptomatic infections from 12:01 a.m. to 12 p.m. yesterday.