HOSPITALS in Shenzhen have resumed clinical services with clinic visits increasing nonstop in recent days. The number of clinical visits to the Shenzhen No. 2 People’s Hospital are averaging 3,000 to 4,000 daily, around 70 percent of daily averages before the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, the Shenzhen Special Zone Daily reported yesterday. To prevent cross-infection, hospitals have also tightened measures such as temperature checks and health code applications that obtain data on patients’ physical conditions through a questionnaire. The Shenzhen No. 2 People’s Hospital has implemented three-level pre-checks to screen patients going to see doctors. All patients to the hospital are required to take a nucleic acid test. “Since the city has been re-categorized to a low-risk region, we may not require ordinary clinic visitors who have no symptoms such as high temperatures and cough or related epidemic disease records to take a nucleic acid test,” said Zhao Zhongjiang, head of clinics department of the Shenzhen No. 2 People’s Hospital. To avoid crowding, patients need to make an appointment online before coming to the hospital for treatment. In the department of ophthalmology, where doctors must make close contact with patients, physicians are taking precautions by wearing goggles, masks and gloves. Treatment devices are disinfected frequently to ensure the safety of both patients and healthcare workers. At the Shenzhen Maternity and Child Healthcare Hospital, those who escort the patients are not allowed to enter the clinic building. “This is to prevent cross-infection and make more space for patients who need to keep a distance from each other in the waiting rooms,” Li Hui, director of the hospital’s infection department, said. Weekly visits to the hospital reached 5,000. Clinics at the Shenzhen No. 3 People’s Hospital, the designated hospital for the treatment of COVID-19 patients, have reopened after a two-month suspension, now that the number of COVID-19 infections has declined significantly. As of Monday, 23 COVID-19 patients have been treated at the hospital, all of who are mild cases. (Han Ximin) |