The Seventh Press Conference of Information Office, People’s Government of Guangdong Province on Epidemic Prevention and Control
Presenter Deng Hong (Deputy Director of the Information Office, People’s Government of Guangdong Province):
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the seventh press conference of Information Office, People’s Government of Guangdong Province on Epidemic Prevention and Control.
Today, we invited Ms Zhou Zixiao, Deputy Leader of the Comprehensive Group Office of the Provincial Epidemic Prevention and Control Headquarters and Director of the Provincial Health and Health Committee's Prevention and Control Leading Group Office, and Deputy Mayor of Shenzhen Municipal People's Government, and Ms Wu Yihuan, Deputy Chief Commander of the Municipal Epidemic Prevention and Control Command, Mr Luo Lexuan, Director of Shenzhen Municipal Health Committee, Mr Li Zhong, Deputy Director of Shenzhen Market Supervision Bureau, Mr Feng Tiejian, Deputy Director of Shenzhen Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Mr Liu Lei, President of Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, to attend the press conference and asked them to introduce the situation to everyone and answer your questions on epidemic prevention and control.
First of all, I would like to introduce Zhou Zixiao, the Deputy Chief.
Zhou Zixiao (Deputy Group Leader of the General Office of the Guangdong Provincial Epidemic Prevention and Control Headquarters and Director of the Office of the Provincial Health and Health Committee Prevention and Control Leading Group): Good afternoon. Since the outbreak of pneumonia caused by the new coronavirus, the Provincial Party Committee, the Provincial Government, and local cities have placed great attention on the situation, scientifically judged the case, accurately grasped the epidemic, united leadership, unified command, and united action. They always keep in mind the people's interests and priorities and insist on their missions. The safety of the people's lives and physical health are the priority, and comprehensive measures for joint prevention and control are implemented. The day before yesterday, the Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee Li Xi presided over a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee, carefully studying and delivering the gist of the instructions issued by General Secretary Xi Jinping on the importance of epidemic prevention and control, as well as studying the implementation of opinions in our province. The Office of the Provincial Epidemic Prevention and Control Headquarters held a special meeting to examine the supporting policies related to the delayed resumption of work, focusing on the treatment of severe-ill patients, material security, and inspection on crucial groups of people.
First, let us access the latest information on the epidemic. Until the noon today, Guangdong has reported a total of 535 confirmed cases of pneumonitis with new coronavirus infection. From February 1st to 12th, fifteen new cases were confirmed, and one was recovered and discharged. Among the newly confirmed cases, thirteen were in Guangzhou, one in Foshan, and one in Meizhou. Of the 535 confirmed cases, 18 were excessively ill, fifty were sick severely, 456 were common cases, eleven were discharged, and no deaths occurred.
In the following, we will introduce the latest progress of epidemic prevention and control and respond to public concerns.
The first is about the prevention and control guidelines. To better scientifically guide the prevention and control work, we have recently added urban communities and township rural areas, joint quarantine stations, urban-run subway rail transit, inoculation units, and migrant workers based on the original guidelines. Enterprises (factories) with concentrated personnel, government-owned enterprises and institutions, the general public, living travel history personnel in disease-endemic areas, medical isolation observers, migrant workers returning to Guangdong, catering services, personal protection, and ordinary residents' disposal of masks. A total of 38 prevention and control guidelines were issued.
For example, the general public is very concerned about migrant workers. Here we talked about migrant workers returning from the place where the epidemic occurred. If they have a company, the company will arrange a single room and people should be isolated for 14 days individually. If this strict home isolation cannot be achieved, people should be moved to central quarantine places. If people don’t have a company, it is required to take the initiative to go to the quarantine isolation and inspection place for 14 days. Relevant people can inquire about local centralized quarantine places, or some disease control and protection issues, or can call 12345 or 12320 hotlines.
All of these guidelines have been published on the official website of the Provincial Health and Health Commission, and they have also been released in major media. Citizens and related companies can go to download if necessary.
The second is to give full play to the role of "Digital Guangdong". After the holiday, many people will have to encounter some approval and application matters. To raise the convenience of digital technology, we use the "digital government" and "Internet + government service" platforms to facilitate the online service of the general public and reduce personnel mobility. It is recommended that citizens handle governmental affairs through online services, self-service terminals and other means.
Among them, "Guangdong Government Service Network" can provide 806,000 matters for online processing. People only need to settle down at home, combine online payment and home delivery, and quickly get things done.
A mini-program named “Guangdong Trouble-Saving” has launched more than 1080 government services, including social security, provident funds, household administration, vehicle violations, living expenses, social assistance, etc. The public can do things without moving their fingers at home.
In terms of the commercial entities in our province which is more than 12 million, people can log in to the “Guangdong Business Link” Application and handle more than 400 highly frequent service-related matters including business start-ups, investments, engineering construction projects, and enterprises annual reports without going out of the home.
We have deployed all-in-one government services in some community service centres in Guangzhou, Shaoguan, Zhaoqing, and Qingyuan, bringing together immigration, social security, provident fund, household administration, taxation, etc. People in ethnic minority areas and less developed regions can work closely nearby.
At present, the "Epidemic Prevention and Control Service Zone" has been launched on multiple platforms such as "Guangdong Trouble-Saving ", "Guangdong Business Link", and the Guangdong Government Service Network to provide citizens with the latest epidemic information, personal health declaration, and national epidemic inquiry.
Finally, we also responded to the concerns of the public, how to see a doctor in an online hospital. Recently, we issued a request that the internet hospitals in the province should take advantage of the long-distance and micro-contact of the Internet to set up online fever clinics, online consultation of new coronavirus-infected pneumonia, and even AI doctors to assist the public in self-judgment and other services.
Since the first batch of 57 Internet hospitals in Guangdong opened fever clinics in just a few days. More than 3,000 cases of pneumonia online consultation about new coronavirus infection have been received. Citizens who need this service can go to the official website of the Provincial Health and Health Commission, Health Guangdong, Guangdong Health Online and other public accounts to scan the QR code of the hospitals for consultations. We will release more information about online hospitals later on. I am finishing here today, thank you.
Presenter Deng Hong: Thank you, Zi Xiao. Let’s welcome Wu Yihuan.
Wu Yihuan (Vice Mayor of Shenzhen Municipal People's Government, Deputy Chief Commander of the Municipal Epidemic Prevention and Control Headquarters): Good afternoon, everyone! Thank you for your care and support for Shenzhen. Let me introduce you to the situation of Shenzhen epidemic prevention and control.
Everyone knows that Shenzhen is a sizable modern immigration city. The situation of epidemic prevention and control is very complicated, and the task is very arduous. Since the outbreak, the Shenzhen Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government have placed great emphases on the implementation of the important instructions of General Secretary Xi Jinping and fully implemented the gist of Provincial Committee. The government's decision-making plan puts the safety of the people's lives and physical health in priority, and the prevention and control of the epidemic situation is the most important task at present. Following the general requirements of "firm confidence, mutual help, scientific prevention and control, and precise policy", we adhere to the principle of “public prevention and control, joint prevention and control, strict prevention and control," and firmly win the fight against epidemic prevention and control.
Until the midnight of January 31st, a total of 170 confirmed cases were found in Shenzhen, of which 12 were severely ill, nine were critically ill, and five were discharged. There were no deaths and no medical staff infection. The primary situation is reported as follows:
First, the epidemic situation must be determined to "early", and we have quickly entered the wartime state at the speed of Shenzhen, fully spreading the various tasks of epidemic prevention and control. After the appearance of suspected cases in Shenzhen on January 11th, the Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government attached great importance to it. The Secretary of Weizhong demanded decisive measures to ensure foolproofness and quickly launch epidemic prevention and treatment work. The medical and health system immediately launched the surveillance and investigation of outpatients in medical institutions throughout the city and medical staff. Prevention and control training and patriotic health campaigns were conducted. After Guangdong initiated the first-level response to a major public health emergency, Shenzhen quickly entered a wartime state. A city epidemic prevention and control headquarters headed by Secretary Wang Weizhong and Mayor Chen Rugui was established. The headquarters office has a whole group and epidemic prevention and control. Nine working groups, including the medical teams, the medical treatment teams, and the material security teams, are headed by the relevant city leaders as office directors and working group leaders to timely deploy epidemic prevention and control work. City leaders rushed to the front line, commanded forward, went deep into the front line to understand the situation, researched the problem, grasped the frontline situation promptly, and made accurate decisions to ensure that measures were put in place.
Second, the policy is "extreme". We do everything possible to treat patients. All patients with confirmed and suspected cases in Shenzhen are treated in Shenzhen Third People's Hospital. We will carry out treatment work at any cost. More than 1,000 medical staff fought day and night. We also mobilized the resources to support these three hospitals. The Shenzhen Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital also selected the best Chinese medicine experts to participate in the treatment of three hospitals. All patients have used traditional Chinese medicine. At the same time, following the requirements of "prefer to prepare rather than use, unavailable and not prepare", the Shenzhen Third People's Hospital transferred ordinary patients and vacated 1100 beds to ensure admission capacity, and also accelerated the construction of the second Shenzhen People's Hospital Period. At present, the Shenzhen University General Hospital and the Southern Medical University Shenzhen Hospital Hezheng Branch have opened individual areas. The referrals are for patients with a history of epidemiological exposure and clinical symptoms but with negative nucleic acid test results. The hospital is also prepared to accept patients at peak times. At the same time, we have tried every means to protect medical supplies. The municipal government immediately issued emergency protection funds to ensure that the work was focused and dedicated.
On the one hand, it has increased its potentials, mobilized local enterprises such as masks and protective clothing manufactures to develop their full capacity, expanded production capacity, and dispatched staff to guide service companies to help them solve practical difficulties on time; on the other hand, they have also expanded procurement through multiple channels, purchased masks as well as some other much-needed supplies via imports and other channels. Also, in response to the periodical vegetable purchase, emergency safeguard measures have been issued, including multi-party organization of supply, multiplying market supply. The current amount of fresh, vegetables, and fruits is sufficient, which can effectively meet the daily needs of citizens.
We saw such a passage in the supermarket, and it was widely circulated. I posted a notice: Dear customer, there is no shortage of vegetables now, but you will be short of it. After you are short, the manager will let us double the supply. After a few days, you cannot finish eating all of the food. I have too much stock to sell, and it’s rotten. Let ’s not torture each other, shall we? The New Year's Eve, let's not grab, live well, okay! There are ubiquitous examples like this in Shenzhen. I just give an example.
Third, we need to put a lot of attention on "prevention", adhering to infection from outside as well as proliferation inside of Guangdong. We resolutely curb the spread of the epidemic. We have set up 115 joint quarantine stations at airports, railway stations, bus terminals, ports, terminals, expressways, national highways, etc., to comprehensively inspect vehicles and personnel, urge hotels to improve equipment and facilities, and strictly implement a temperature monitoring system. We arrange personnel to increase the intensity of inspections, make careful registration of passengers, and lay a solid foundation for prevention and control.
Simultaneously, we use a variety of means to carry out prevention and control, such as actively using information technology, using big data to comprehensively analyze the situation of mobile workers, researching prevention and control strategies, and in-depth implementing of prevention and control measures based on community prevention and control. Cities, districts, and streets should be coordinated for establishing a “three-in-one” grass-roots prevention and control system for community centres, social health centres, and police.
At the same time, according to the change of weather, experts in traditional Chinese medicine in Shenzhen also made a prescription of “Fanggan Tang”, and announced it to the society. We took the lead in confirming the diagnosis and announcing the communities that had been contaminated potentially during the onset of confirmed cases. Leveraging the advantages of Shenzhen's technological innovation and a high degree of informationization, we opened online consultations at designated hospitals, launched the "online consultation" platform for epidemic prevention and control on the "iShenzhen" Application, and also launched "Peace and Quick Consultation" and "Tencent Joint Free Consultation". These actions aim to provide online consultation services for reducing the pressure of outpatient pre-screening and triage. Developing the "Shenzhen I-Autonomous Declaration Platform" is to guide the independent declaration of five types of people who come to Shenzhen, returning from other provinces, having discomfort, doing home isolation and having contact history from January 1st 2020. Based on preliminary investigations, we conduct a comprehensive large-scale screening of those who have been in close contact with confirmed cases, those who have come to the epidemic, and those who have been diagnosed with fever to ensure that they are not leaked.
At the same time, we have also improved our screening capabilities and formulated working guidelines such as laboratory testing technology and biosafety guidelines. Since January 29th, thirty-nine institutions in Shenzhen have carried out nucleic acid testing. It is through enhanced screening, early detection, early reporting, early isolation, early diagnosis, early treatment that timely transmission of the epidemic can be prevented.
Fourth, we need to face the “danger” and adequately handling the emergency, which can genuinely embody our responsibilities. While Shenzhen is doing a good job in epidemic prevention and control, it also follows the overall steps on epidemic prevention and control in Guangdong. It properly handles several emergencies accounted by the state. For example, we have learned that the "Venice" cruise is scheduled to arrive at Shekou Cruise's home port on the morning of January 26th. It plans to disembark 4,973 passengers, including 414 passengers from Hubei, and 1,249 crew members. In response to this emergency, the provincial government emphasize and give instructions immediately. On the evening of January 25th, we quickly implemented and met overnight to figure out countermeasures, formulated two sets of treatment plans for "normal detection" and "exception abnormality", and conducted a one-by-one inspection on all passengers and crew members. No cases of infection were found. At the same time, under the requirements, we sent 148 passengers who have recent travel history, residence history and contact history of Wuhan, Hubei to the designated hotels for medical isolation observation. Besides, emergency trips from other cities to Russia, Cambodia, and other places where there were hot passengers returning to the country were properly handled. We arranged them to the designated hotels for isolation and observation. After the feverish patients were diagnosed, they were sent to the quarantine. People with close contacts with them were sent to centralized treatment as well. All samples were tested and observed in isolation.
In the next step, Shenzhen will continue to sincerely implement the spirit of the essential instructions of General Secretary Xi Jinping, and resolutely implement the requirements of "firm confidence, mutual help, scientific prevention, and precise policy" in accordance with the decision-making arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council and the deployment requirements of the Provincial Party Committee and Provincial Government. Taking full account of the fact that Shenzhen, as a large-scale modern immigrant city, has a more complicated prevention and control situation and a more arduous task, it must be deployed in advance, plan, and make every plan and measure carefully, strictly and practically. We need to strengthen the implementation of prevention and control measures, scientifically and orderly organize and carry out epidemic prevention and control, and protect the safety and health of the people of the city! Thank you all.
Presenter Deng Hong: Thank you, Vice Mayor Wu Yihuan. Now enter the Q&A. Please inform your news organization before asking questions.
People's Daily: Mayor Wu Yihuan, Shenzhen is an immigrant city. After the Spring Festival, a large number of people will return to Shenzhen to work and go to school. As the potential risks of so many migrants, regarding the prevention and control of the epidemic brought by the back tide after the holiday as a challenge, what measures will Shenzhen government take?
Wu Yihuan: Thank you for your question. The question you asked is a matter of great concern to the public and society. It is also the earliest concern of the Shenzhen Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government, and we have begun to focus on the prevention and control. Shenzhen is indeed a large-scale immigration city. After the holiday, people return. According to the experience of previous years, there are many people. Therefore, the Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government arranged in advance by the requirements of the Provincial Party Committee and Provincial Government. We have adopted various effective prevention and control measures, for instance, mobilizing party cadres and volunteers to give up their vacation. We have also actively initiate mass prevention and control, and we have adopted the following six measures:
First, solidify the foundation for epidemic prevention and control. Based on the actual situation in Shenzhen, the guidelines for the management of health inspections were formulated. At the same time, guidelines for prevention and control of key places such as communities, families, public places, public transportation, schools, enterprises, and nursing homes were formulated to ensure that standard guidelines have been implemented. At the same time, we also responded to issues of body temperature of the crew and passengers during the peak period of their return journey. Community prevention and control tasks were cumbersome. So, we also increased the number of staff at the joint monitoring points which are doing scheduling and protection. We also strengthened the provision of community staffing and enhanced the community's prevention and control capabilities.
Second, we will focus on strengthening comprehensive prevention and control measures focusing on communities and villages, to ensure that “no water leaks”. According to the request of Secretary Wang Weizhong, the joint prevention and control mechanism measures have been implemented, organizing the cadre to sink to the grass-roots level, giving full play to the strength of Party and mass service centres, property management, community volunteers and other aspects, and improving the district, street, and community prevention and control network. We also make good use of the grid management, which is carpet-type management of communities, urban villages, rental houses, so that the system into the family, door-to-door inspection, registration records for each family can be achieved. Now, every cadre at the branch level is going to the community to do a job together. Through such a measure, a leak-proof, comprehensive and tightly knit prevention and control network is implemented to prevent community transmission.
Third, vigorously improve the "four capabilities". The first is to improve the service capabilities of people quarantined at home. In terms of the “three-in-one prevention and control” responsibilities of “community workstations, community health and community police” to ensure the security of home quarantine, protection measures and tracking management are in place to ensure that quarantined people can also enjoy some convenient living services. The second is to improve the ability to concentrate and isolate close contacts. We raise and require a sufficient number of quarantine places. At present, dozens of hotels have been prepared to ensure that close contacts who may appear during the peak of the return trip can have a place for rapid and centralized quarantine. The third is to improve detection capabilities. The fourth is to improve treatment capacity. According to the requirements of "prefer to prepare rather than use", all ordinary patients in the Shenzhen Third Hospital will be transferred, and a total of 1,100 beds will be vacated to ensure the capacity of patients. At the same time, the two other hospitals have been coordinated to be ready at any time as the designated hospitals.
Fourth, mobilize all resources to ensure material security. Fifth, increase efforts to carry out scientific research. Shenzhen will give full play to the advantages of scientific and technological innovation, and strive to make breakthroughs in critical areas such as early detection of clinical epidemiology, clinical diagnosis and treatment of new coronavirus-infected pneumonia as soon as possible. Sixth, vigorously carry out supervision. Wherever our work is arranged, the Supervision Office will form a closed loop of work deployment and implementation
Dear media friends, I would like to take this opportunity to call on the personnel from Shenzhen to return to Shenzhen to enter the “Shenzhen I-Autonomous Application Platform” mini-program through WeChat on time and to declare information to the community, business, school and various units where they are located. For yourself, for your family, for your neighbours, for your colleagues, for our society, and for the beautiful city where we live together, we will work together to prevent and control the epidemic and win the fight against it. Thank you!
A reporter from Shenzhen Special Economic Zone: After the holiday, a large number of migrants will return, which will inevitably lead to an increase in the number of suspected or confirmed patients. If the number of patients increases significantly, with Shenzhen's current treatment capacity, do you think it will exceed that? Can you handle it?
Luo Lexuan (Director of the Shenzhen Municipal Health and Health Committee): The construction of the infectious disease prevention and control system and clinical capacity building in Shenzhen has witnessed significant development since the SARS. We emphasise on the layout of the Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government. In terms of the prevention and control system, we, in Shenzhen, have established a joint prevention and control system that combines three levels of professional prevention in the “city, district, and street”. Contagious disease hospitals have been rebuilt in different places. In the first phase, more than 1,000 beds were built, and infectious disease hospitals who are capable of opening 1,600 beds were opened. As our hospital for patients with infectious diseases, they have now reached the level of third-class hospitals. After the epidemic, when we had an outbreak in Wuhan, everyone was very concerned about the entire prevention and treatment system. We were the first city in the province to be diagnosed with pneumonitis infected by a new coronavirus. Also, the first case and the first batch of cases were announced. The hospital did adequately prepare to respond in this regard. Following the "Four Concentrations" principle of centralizing patients, experts, resources, and treatment, we also identified three hospitals as our specialized hospitals for the clinical treatment of pneumonia in this new type of coronavirus infection in Shenzhen. In the beginning, suspected and confirmed patients were admitted to this hospital. With the development of the current situation, especially the increase in the number of patients, to ensure that these three hospitals can receive patients better and with higher capacity, the municipal government has done serious research and full preparation. First, all the existing patients in these three hospitals were vacated. Except for other infectious diseases requiring treatment, more than 1,110 beds were vacated. Secondly, the construction of the second phase will be accelerated at the same time, and 1,000 beds can be added in a short time to meet the needs. Third, we took the suspected patients treated in Shenzhen Third People’s Hospital, the pathogen detection nucleic acid test was negative, no fever was diagnosed, so clinical observation was needed, and follow-up treatment was needed. We selected two hospitals and wards, and these non-positive patients are vacated to these wards for follow-up treatment. The resources in Shenzhen Third People’s Hospital will be used for the treatment of positive patients. Fourth, we mobilized high-quality medical resources in Shenzhen, especially the intensive care and ICU nursing backbones to the Shenzhen Third People’s Hospital, for enriching the strength of medical staff when the number of patients increased.
Through these measures, at present, we can still cope with the increasing number of patients with a possible epidemic situation. Of course, we are also doing a good job in external defense input, internal defense transmission, and community-oriented prevention and control. In this regard, our city has indeed mobilized. At the community level, everyone is concerned that the number of patients in Shenzhen is increasing. On the one hand, it speeds up the diagnosis time, reduces the source of infection, and reduces the time exposed to the community. Nucleic acid detection, which improves the detection ability at a time, also speeds up the diagnosis of patients. On the other hand, the intensity of the investigation has also been increased. The investigation is carried out in the community. According to our community workstations, community health service centres, including community police, we can do this investigation together. After the investigation is strengthened, patients can be found in time. The number of patients appears to have increased, but it has better cut off the transmission in the community. In terms of internal control communication, we have a better overall prevention and control system. We are also very confident that we can do a good job in prevention and control, and through the city's high-quality resources in clinical treatment, and the support given to our team of experts in the province will do a better job in overall prevention and control. Thank you.
A reporter from Hong Kong Commercial Daily: I would like to ask Director Li Zhong. Recently, there are rumours that some unqualified masks have flowed to the market. Is there such a situation in Shenzhen? If so, what measures will Shenzhen take to combat these illegal acts?
Li Zhong (Deputy Director of Shenzhen Market Supervision Bureau): Many thanks to the reporter from Hong Kong Commercial Daily for these questions. We have found that there is indeed an act of selling fake and shoddy masks in Shenzhen. In Ruicaotang, Songgang Street, Baoan District, some customers reported that they had purchased second-hand masks. We will investigate and deal with them immediately after receiving the report. A batch of 700 masks of allegedly inferior quality, labelled N95, without any label identification, factory name, and the site was seized at the scene. A follow-up investigation revealed that he had sold 1,800 N95 masks and 24,000 "high-filter bacteria sanitary masks." We have coordinated with the police in criminal detention of those two suspects in the shop, and the case is currently under investigation.
For the sale of counterfeit masks on the market, we stepped up our crackdown and adhered to the principles of strictness and quickness. When we discovered a crime, we immediately transferred it to the Public Security Department for processing. Due to the current shortage of supply of masks on the market, our focus on the scale of law enforcement is to combat masks that endanger the safety and health of the people and the inferior quality of the products, especially the re-used masks. For some masks on the market that are found to have no Chinese label and have been exported to China, but meet the relevant standards of the exporting country, we follow the requirements of the latest documents of the Provincial Drug Administration to guide enterprises to file such products with our Market Supervision Bureau. Sales are allowed once Chinese labels are attached.
A reporter from Guangdong TV: I would like to ask Director Li Zhong, during the epidemic prevention period, how was the overall supply situation in Shenzhen? Is it able to meet the regular needs of citizens? How to solve the shortage of supplies such as masks? Guangzhou has launched a WeChat mini-program for citizens to purchase masks, and some cities have limited measures to supply masks. Does Shenzhen take relevant steps?
Li Zhong: The vast majority of Shenzhen medical masks are supplied from outside the city. There are only five companies with medical mask production qualifications in this city. Among them, Jianneng and Yuguan have production bases in other places, and only Shenzhen Zhonghai Company is local. We went to the factory on January 23rd and told him to call the workers to return to work. Since January 24th, we have implemented 24-hour non-stop production, machines and staff shifts. The current production capacity is 200,000 per day. Besides, in terms of several other factories, some of which used to produce export products with advanced orders, we also let them restore production capacity. In terms of the factories that were discontinued, we urgently asked him to increase production equipment, disinfection and sterilization production workshops. The above is our local production.
In addition, we have also expanded the channels for overseas import procurement, and do everything possible to purchase worldwide. As long as there is a stock of mask products, through some trading companies in Shenzhen, companies with global supply chains will find sources of supply.
From January 23rd to January 30th, major pharmaceutical chains and drug stores in Shenzhen have supplied 3.51 million medical masks and 1.72 million labour insurance masks, which is a total of 5.23 million. However, with the development of the epidemic situation, the current demand for masks on the market is huge. From production to import, it is still far from meeting the needs, so we try our best to expand the production capacity of production factories, work overtime and continue to increase efforts to strengthen overseas procurement. As for the Guangzhou Open Mini Program, which provides channels for people to buy masks, we are also figuring out and will soon be introduced, thank you!
A reporter from Shenzhen Satellite TV: Director Feng, as a large number of people, return after the holiday, the pressure on community prevention and control will increase. What advice does the Shenzhen Center for Disease Control and Prevention have for community prevention and control? What issues should be noticed in the popularization and propaganda of community prevention and control knowledge?
Feng Tiejian (Deputy Director of Shenzhen Centers for Disease Control and Prevention): Thank you for the questions from the reporter of Shenzhen Satellite TV. Regarding the first question, the current spread of pneumonia of new coronavirus infection is relatively wide, and the scope is relatively broad. The situation is difficult and complicated. For a relatively large epidemic, it is necessary to fight against this epidemic with joint efforts. The key to this war is community prevention and control. In response to the problem of community prevention and control, some of our practices and suggestions have just been explained by the Mayor.
The first is the joint defense and control, group defense and control, fulfilling the “four-party responsibilities of the government, departments, companies, and individuals”. The second is to issue health notices for returnees to remind them to take the initiative to carry out self-health management and health declaration, fulfilling the citizens' responsibilities and legal obligations. As pneumonia infected by the new type of coronavirus is a Class B infectious disease and Class A management, according to the requirements of the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases and the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China, any unit and individual has a responsibility and obligation to be accountable. Thirdly, implement Trinity's control measures and measures. Fourth, strengthen the health management and humanistic care of returning employees in enterprises and institutions. Fifth, carry out patriotic health campaigns and environmental improvement.
Regarding your second question, we should pay attention to several aspects of the promotion of community prevention and knowledge. First, we must correctly understand the danger, severity and health risks of pneumonia infected by the new coronavirus. Second, from the present, according to the data and the medical treatment in Shenzhen, the disease can be controlled, preventable, and curable. Therefore, we recommend that you avoid panic and not paralyze. We highly recommend to know how to protect ourselves, including wearing a mask, washing hands, ventilating, not going to crowds, seeking medical treatment in time, not eating “Yewei”, as well as doing health declaration and isolation.
A reporter from Southern Finance and Economics: I would like to ask Dean Liu Lei, how is the current situation of infants and young children in Shenzhen Third People's Hospital? How is the treatment different from an adult, and how should infants be protected at home? What protections does the hospital provide for medical staff?
Liu Lei (President of Shenzhen Third People's Hospital): Thank you for your question. There are several issues that need to be explained:
First, all populations should be susceptible, and there is no data to show that children will not be sick. Second, the current treatment method is based on the fourth edition of the latest state treatment guidelines. There is no specific guideline for children, but we follow the routine and conventions, such as symptomatic treatment, virus, and lung infection. Currently, the treatment effect is still okay. The majority of severely ill patients are the elderly. At present, we have also invested a lot of human resources and material resources on children's attention. We have given close attention to children and a high level of technical input. This is our answer to the treatment of children and infants.
The second is to protect the medical staff. The disease is highly contagious. Protecting our medical team is a top priority of the government. Secretary Li Xi, Governor Ma Xingrui, Secretary Wei Zhong, Director Duan Yufei, Deputy Mayor Wu Yihuan, and Director Luo Lexuan repeatedly emphasized this. Protecting our medical staff well, and avoiding cross-infection of medical staff is not allowed. In this regard, we have done a lot of work: First, strictly establish and improve the sense of prevention and control in the hospital and regulate all kinds of irregular behaviour. Second, upgrade the level of protection among frontline clinical staff. Third, strengthen the protection level in the environment in which the severely ill patients are in close contact. For example, in the infection process, the most vulnerable parts are taking the throat swab samples, doing bronchoscopy, cutting the organs, and maintaining invasive breathing. We upgrade the protection for these four parts. First of all, all operations must be graded. Who will do it? Is it possible to do it? Do you have this qualification to do it? These have been strengthened at the registration; Second, we need to improve all the protective equipment to the best; Third, we have the entire video to make the process traceable; Fourth, the hospital professionals need to be guided under the whole process, once they do not meet the standards, they should immediately stop.
At the same time, for the front-line medical staff, firstly, it is required to establish a health file for each medicals, to regularly check their physical conditions as well as conduct screening; Secondly, it is not a good option to fight fatigue, instead, ensure sufficient physical strength, for example, changing positions in time or taking sufficient rest; Third, the mandatory quarantine hopes to protect medicals and their family members; Fourth, we provide Chinese medicine, “Fanggan Tang”, to all medical staff who are at the front line, they are all issued with the highest-grade interferon sprays to use before and after operations; Fifth, we protect all high-level wearable equipment; Finally, we provide the best for their clothing, food, shelter. The above actions allow them to eat well and sleep well so that they are energetic and devoted to the work of pneumonia against new coronavirus infection. Thank you.
A reporter from Information Times: I would like to ask Director Feng about when Shenzhen's confirmed cases will reach their peak. According to data now, nearly 200 cases are approaching. Do the Shenzhen epidemic prevention and control mean to enter a new stage? What is the focus of prevention and control in the next step? When is the turning point expected?
Feng Tiejian: Thank you for your question. Regarding the issue of the pre-judgment, as the epidemic progresses and the awareness and vigilance of medical personnel in Shenzhen are getting higher and higher, we have increased our screening efforts and expanded our testing capabilities and networks to confirm the diagnosis. The time is shortened, and the public ’s health awareness is improved. We currently have a relatively large number of cases per day. Screening is a good thing. It can be detected early, reported early, isolated, diagnosed, and treated early. Prevention is a good thing.
Among the cases we have found, 97% of the infected people are imported cases, and the source of the input is mainly the current epidemic place. Shenzhen is a large city with a large number of migrants and floating population. The impact of disease epidemic control in major epidemic provinces is huge. At present, under the situation of the epidemic situation in the country and the epidemic situation in many provinces and cities is not very certain, we are very cautious about this turning point, and we are not very sure about making too much decisions.
If the epidemic situation in other provinces and cities is not effectively controlled or there is more community-based spread, as more and more migrant workers return to Shenzhen after the holiday, the next epidemic in Shenzhen will have a relatively large or even huge impact. According to our current laboratory surveillance data for fever clinics, the current wave of outbreaks is dominated by imported transmission, which has been declining so far. However, the number of cases of this disease does not rule out an increase once there is an increase in the number of returnees after the Spring Festival, and the presence of some infected people in Shenzhen will affect our epidemic situation. The possibility of such a rebound also exists. Based on the existing surveillance data and the epidemic characteristics of the disease, our experts estimate that this wave of epidemics may stabilize within two weeks. If the epidemic situation in other provinces and cities can be effectively controlled, the infected people in the returnees can be detected timely. The local investigation found that if the spread of our community is controlled, the epidemic situation in Shenzhen will stabilize. However, the possibility of a rebound will still not be ruled out. This is our concern at this stage.
Regarding the next step of prevention and control, there are several aspects. First, strengthen the outpatient and patient screening findings as well as a targeted treatment. This is very important for early detection, which is effective management of infectious diseases. Second, strengthen the centralized quarantine observation and investigation of close contacts; Third, strengthen the monitoring and control of nosocomial infections. President Liu Lei also said just now that we must prevent nosocomial infections and infections among medical staff, especially that the disease has some asymptomatic and latent infections. The next step will also pose a greater challenge to our hospital control; Fourth, strictly control the occurrence of community-based communication, especially the occurrence of sexual inter-group transmission in the community; Fifth, strengthen community control and health management and investigation of returnees; Sixth, strengthen health prevention knowledge, civic responsibility and legal awareness education. In response to this infectious disease, everyone and every unit must fulfil their civic responsibilities and legal obligations to fight the disease together. Seventh, health education and the dissemination of knowledge to raise citizens' awareness of disease prevention. This time the epidemic has had a significant impact on people’s lives; however, we see that the measures taken by governments across the country are also a very good way to popularize health knowledge for the entire population, and especially to raise awareness of infectious disease protection. Thank you.
Presenter Deng Hong: Due to time constraints, the press conference is over. Next, we will continue to arrange release activities. To improve the pertinence and effectiveness, I hope that journalists will send questions of interest and concern to our provincial news office email address so that we can respond in time. Thank you, the six guests and media reporters. Today's conference is over.
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