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Shanghai on Monday reported a confirmed COVID-19 case, Shanghai health authorities announced. The patient is a worker at the Pudong International Airport. A screening of close contacts is underway.
The man, surnamed Wang, 51, went to the People’s Hospital in Pudong for treatment on Sunday after showing fever symptoms. A total of 26 close contacts have been traced and quarantined for medical observation.
The first nucleic acid tests among close contacts have been completed and 23 of them returned negative results. The rest are still waiting for test results.
The man’s place of residence, Yingqian village of Zhuqiao township in Shanghai, has been labeled as a mid-level risk area.
He had no contact with cold-chain products and no relationship with the ongoing 3rd China International Import Expo (CIIE) held in Shanghai, the authorities said.
A total of 181 people have been identified, 106 of whom have been placed under quarantine and medical observation, and the remaining 75 are being transported.
So far, food, goods and environment samples have been collected from relevant places. A total of 462 samples have been collected, and 127 nucleic acid tests have been completed, all of which were negative, the authorities said.
A staff at Pudong International Airport, which is located in Pudong New Area, said that the airport is operating normally currently, Jiankang Shibao reported on Monday.
Wu Fan, vice dean of Shanghai Fudan University Medical School, and a medic from Shanghai’s expert coronavirus treatment team, said that the case is an occasional case, with a limited affected scope due to a quick and timely response.
Rumors of a suspected COVID-19 case in Shanghai’s Yingqian village began to circulate after a notice from a Shanghai company requiring subordinate units to check whether anyone from the company lives in Yingqian village went viral online.
A man from the Shanghai company, Zhuqiao Agricultural Investment and Development Company, surnamed Zhou, confirmed with the Global Times on Monday that the company did release such a notice and said they are in the process of screening their employees.
The notice also asked staff to go to designated hospitals for treatment if they showed fever or respiratory tract symptoms.
A parent of a student from a middle school in Pudong told the Global Times that she had been informed by the school to register whether their kids are living with people who work at the airport.
Shanghai is adopting closed-loop management and requires a full traceability chain to prevent imported COVID-19 cases. All inbound travellers are required to submit their health condition, take nucleic acid tests and measure their body temperatures upon arrival, and are subject to a 14-day quarantine.
The city is now hosting the 3rd China International Import Expo, which lasts from November 5 to 10.
To guarantee the safety of the CIIE, all participants must undergo nucleic acid testing and inspection to be admitted into the event, and thorough disinfection of key areas such as entry points to the city, accommodation areas and expo venues must be carried out.
On Monday, Shanghai reported seven new imported cases over the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of imported cases to 899. The city hasn’t held any epidemic control press conference since July 8, as the coronavirus has been brought under control and no local case was reported.
China has decided to suspend the entry of non-Chinese nationals from at least 10 countries including Italy, Russia, and India due to the worldwide coronavirus resurgence.