Lin Min

linmin67@hotmail.com

Cruise ship scare

WHEN the cruise ship Costa Venezia with 6,222 people on board left Shekou port Jan. 21, heading to Da Nang, Vietnam, passengers were immersed in joy, unfazed by the mysterious outbreak in Wuhan. On the afternoon of Jan. 25, joyful tourists were suddenly gripped by anxiety after the crew broadcast that disembarkation may be delayed and all passengers might require quarantine after disembarkation.

Even worse, a total of 13 passengers, including three children, had fever. Upon receiving the report Jan. 25, top Shenzhen officials rushed to draw up emergency plans and assemble task forces to detect the virus and handle a possible outbreak on the cruise ship.

Costa Venezia returned to Shenzhen on Jan. 26 after a six-day cruise. On arrival, a massive medical team boarded the ship, and all 4,973 passengers and 1,249 crew were checked for symptoms of fever and pneumonia.

Fortunately, those who had fever tested negative for the novel coronavirus. The 148 passengers who were residents of Wuhan or had visited Wuhan recently were quarantined at a hotel in Nanshan.

Other passengers and crew were permitted to disembark in the evening of Jan. 26. On Feb. 3, all the 148 quarantined passengers were released from medical observation.

Shenzhen’s handling of the cruise ship, which involved hundreds of government staff and community workers, won praise by passengers and news media. Many passengers and crew members felt lucky after the coronavirus later ravaged Diamond Princess and other cruise ships in other parts of the world.

Saving lives

Shortly after the epidemic alarm went off, more than 1,300 medical workers at Shenzhen No. 3 People’s Hospital, some of them returning from a curtailed holiday, started hectic preparations, and 1,100 beds were quickly made ready. Other hospitals in Shenzhen sent medical teams to the No. 3 hospital to help.

The number of confirmed cases began to surge in late January, with the worst day seeing 60 new confirmed cases. The city decided to build a temporary facility at the No. 3 hospital to prepare for the worst-case scenario. The 1,000-bed facility was completed in 20 days.

Treating seriously and critically ill patients proved to be the most challenging task at the No. 3 hospital. It was a very delicate job to tend to these patients, who were called “glass persons” because their lungs were pent up by carbon dioxide, and doctors had to be very careful in setting the discharge amount of carbon dioxide for the ventilators: “A little less won’t work, yet a little more would blow up the lungs,” Dr. Fu Yingyun recalled.

At its peak, the hospital’s ICU had 41 patients in critical condition. By March 23, the ICU was cleared of all patients, bringing relief to the stressed medical workers there.

Tracing and isolation

Shenzhen’s extensive contact tracing, isolation of infected patients and quarantine of exposed individuals have proven to be instrumental in containing the epidemic. A study published at the prestigious Lancet Infectious Diseases on April 27 says these measures were key tools in controlling the spread of COVID-19 in Shenzhen.

These measures were followed at over 700 communities, more than 4,800 housing estates and over 1,800 urban villages. No single housing unit in the city was left uncovered.

Researchers analyzed data from 391 patients and 1,286 of their close contacts in Shenzhen, and found that extensive contact tracing and rapid isolation of potentially infected individuals reduced the time that infectious people interacted with others in the community by two days, according to the study by 22 Chinese and American scientists.

Shenzhen’s data was used to create a model for epidemic control in California, according to the study’s co-senior author Justin Lessler, associate professor of epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Extensive contact tracing and quarantine were made possible by hundreds of thousands of CDC staff, community workers and staff of housing estate managements.

Ordinary people in Shenzhen also contributed to the containment of the virus by observing social distancing and quarantine rules, putting on face masks and practicing better personal hygiene. Delivery workers and other essential workers played an important role in keeping the city running and providing food and supplies at a critical time.

Turning point

Starting Feb. 7, daily numbers of newly confirmed cases started to dwindle dramatically after peaking in late January and early February. Between Feb. 18 and March 5, Shenzhen reported only two cases, both from overseas. Epidemiologists attributed the drastic decline of the number of new cases to the strict lockdowns in Hubei, as well as effective community prevention and control, which led to local transmission links being cut off.

Tech prowess

Tech companies in Shenzhen sprang to action after the virus hit. An app developed by Tencent enabled users to report their recent travel history and made it easier for health authorities to identify those who had been exposed to the virus.

Carmaker BYD pivoted to mask-making to aid the country and the world’s fight against the coronavirus. It has become the world’s largest face mask manufacturer. The plant is now running at full capacity and is able to produce 50 million masks per day.

It took Shenzhen’s BGI just 72 hours to develop a nucleic acid test kit for the novel coronavirus. In February when the virus was rampant in China, BGI produced 2 million test kits, easing the shortage of test capabilities in Shenzhen and other parts of the country. By mid-April, BGI had produced more than 7 million test kits for more than 70 countries and regions. Its detection kits have been included on the emergency use list by the World Health Organization.

Ventilators are a crucial “weapon” for medical workers. Shenzhen Mindray Biomedical Electronics Co. Ltd. has exported more than 100,000 ventilators overseas.

Others, from big-name players like Huawei and ZTE to lesser-known companies, were quick to leverage their ingenuity, tech prowess and the city’s fully fledged industrial chain to aid the fight against the pandemic.

Transparency

From early on, Shenzhen published information about infected patients, including their travel history and where they lived while protecting their privacy. The numbers of new and accumulated suspected and confirmed cases, fatalities and hospitalizations were released on a daily basis. The city had convened a total of 96 press briefings and collective interviews as of May 11, releasing epidemic-related information and advisories in a timely manner. Mindful of expatriates’ need of information, city authorities also published multi-language notices in the Shenzhen Daily and its digital media outlets, which started sending out much-needed epidemic-related news and information even before the Spring Festival holiday ended.

The city’s transparency won recognition by visiting WHO experts and the general public.

Support to Hubei and world

Shenzhen sent five teams of 77 medics to several hospitals in Hubei, helping the province battle the epidemic. The first team left Shenzhen on Feb. 9.

A team from the Shenzhen Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital cared for patients in serious condition at the Ward C6 of Leishenshan Hospital. The medical team treated 46 patients in the ward, 13 of whom were in critical condition. All patients recovered.

Another group of doctors and nurses from Shenzhen worked at the Dongxihu temporary hospital, helping 1,641 patients recover.

By March 31, the 77 medical workers had returned to the city safe and sound, after the Hubei hospitals they assisted were cleared of patients.

Shenzhen extended a helping hand to foreign cities when they were hit by the virus. By April 15, the city government had donated 1.5 million face masks to 37 cities and institutions in 24 countries, including the U.S., Japan, the U.K. and Italy. Private organizations like Shenzhen Mammoth Public Welfare Foundation also donated medical supplies to foreign countries.

Expertise can be of valuable help as much about the virus remains unknown. In March and April, Shenzhen officials and health experts shared their experience in containing the pandemic via video conference with peers in countries like Poland, Spain and Kenya.