RESIDENTS are urged to stay vigilant against novel coronavirus (COVID-19) despite the city reporting zero new infections for four days (Feb. 18 to Thursday and Saturday), local Chinese-language media said.

He Jianfan, director of the emergency management office of the Shenzhen Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said that having zero new cases was inspiring as it proved that the virus prevention and control strategies are effective and that the measures were followed citywide.

However, He urged residents not to lower their vigilance against the virus in a media interview Friday morning when commenting on the city’s three-day no-new-infections streak.

He said a new outbreak could not be ruled out following the resumption of work and production of more enterprises in the city. “It means that an increasing number of people would return to Shenzhen for work from different places across the country, but the epidemic situation nationwide is still worrying,” he said.

He said that Shenzhen, as a migrant city of people from around the country, should strictly adhere to the previous control and prevention measures to guard against imported COVID-19 cases and contain the city’s new infections as early as possible to prevent further spread.

According to the city’s health authority, Shenzhen reported a new death related to COVID-19 on Saturday, bringing the total number of fatalities to three in the city.

The patient succumbed to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and multiple organ failure (MOF) inflicted by the virus, the health authority said.

Shenzhen also reported a new confirmed case Friday. A 23-year-old woman has been hospitalized after she was confirmed having contracted the virus. She traveled to Chengdu, Sichuan Province for the Spring Festival on Jan. 23 and had contact with relatives from Wuhan, Hubei Province, the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak.

She returned to Shenzhen on Jan. 31 and fell sick Feb. 12. She is in stable condition at Shenzhen No. 3 People’s Hospital, the city’s designated hospital for COVID-19 treatment.

At press time yesterday, Shenzhen had 417 confirmed infections of the virus, 237 of which had been discharged from the hospital after making a full recovery. Currently, 177 COVID-19 patients are being treated at Shenzhen No. 3 People’s Hospital.

He said that the CDC will work out detailed prevention plans catered to enterprises and schools.

He also reminds residents to take necessary precautions against respiratory diseases, which are most commonly seen in spring when the weather starts to turn warm.

(Wei Jie)