China is testing millions of people in three cities for a coronavirus outbreak



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With the drop in air temperature, the cities of Tianjin, Shanghai and Manchouli are facing large-scale limitations, although there are not many new cases of infection here compared to the United States and other countries battling the second wave of the illness.

Many experts and government officials warn that when the weather cools, the coronavirus could spread faster. Recent outbreaks have shown that the infection can return at any time, although China has largely managed to control the epidemic.

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The National Health Commission said Monday that two new cases of non-imported coronavirus had been detected in Shanghai in the past 24 hours and that the number of confirmed local infections had risen to seven since Friday.

Since late last year, when the new coronavirus first appeared in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, 86,442 cases of COVID-19 coronavirus infection have been confirmed in the country and 4,634 people have died from the disease.

In Shanghai, the coronavirus was confirmed last day in two people who had been in contact with an airport worker who had previously been diagnosed with COVID-19 in November.

On Sunday night, Shanghai Pudong International Airport decided to test all of its employees for coronavirus. At 7 a.m., 17,719 samples were taken for coronavirus testing. It is also planned to test the surrounding inhabitants if more cases of infection are detected.

Videos posted by employees on social media show the chaos at the airport, echoing calls to go and give samples for a coronavirus test. The records show large groups of people shoving officers in protective suits around.

In Shanghai, mass testing is carried out using more rigorous sampling. Here, testing is done on people associated with a specific location, such as the airport or hospital where the infected person worked, rather than testing the entire area.

In Tianjin, health workers took more than 2.2 million. samples for coronavirus testing from Binhai district residents. Last week five cases of non-imported infections were identified in this area.

Manjouli city, home to more than 200 thousand. people, local health officials are testing the entire population, finding two cases of infection here on Sunday. The city has also closed all schools and public spaces, as well as banned public gatherings such as banquets.

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China takes extremely strict measures whenever new non-import related cases are detected. Schools and hospitals are immediately closed, entire neighborhoods isolated, and millions of people tested.

The Tianjin authorities closed a kindergarten and transferred all its staff and the families of the children attending the kindergarten to an isolated space. A residential complex was also isolated, where five cases of infection were identified.

China is coming under fire for draconian pandemic control measures. It closed the city of Wuhan for more than two months, where the first cases of infection were identified. To slow the spread of the infection, the local government stopped all public transportation and ordered residents to stay home.

But Beijing is very proud and proud of its coronavirus management strategy.

“Worldwide, only China can achieve zero cases. Other countries cannot do that,” Zeng Guang, chief epidemiologist at the China Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said at an online seminar organized by the media. of the country in September.

“It’s difficult for them to control even the first wave, much less get to zero,” he said.

According to Zeng Guang, a “zero” strategy is in fact the most cost-effective way to prevent an epidemic.

“Without these measures, the problem will increase,” he said. “Take tougher action, get no cases, and keep people quiet.”



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