Zhang Yu

JeniZhang13@163.com

SHENZHEN’S battle against the latest COVID-19 flare-up has achieved phased results, and the number of new daily infections in communities has been kept low, Lin Hancheng, spokesman of the municipal COVID prevention and control headquarters office, said at a press conference Thursday.

According to Lin, the city has continued to strengthen supervision over the whole nucleic acid testing process involving sampling, delivery, testing and reports.

“Residents in districts where there are COVID cases and employees in some service industries that entail exposure to the virus are required to take nucleic acid tests daily,” Lin said. “Those in other districts are required to take one test every two days.”

Shenzhen has also ramped up prevention and control efforts in recreational centers for senior citizens, educational and training institutions, restaurants,  square dance venues and summer camps.

Lin said citizens can call the 24-hour service hotline (12345 ext. 8) or turn to online channels such as the WeChat account of Shenzhen 12345 Hotline (深圳12345热线), the “i深圳” app and the city government’s online website to voice their requests and appeals related to epidemic prevention and control.

Xu Zhongping, a senior official from the city’s transport bureau, said that traffic authorities have released Metro line and bus route adjustments in a timely manner both online and offline to reduce inconvenience for citizens. At present, all employees in the city’s public transport industry have been included in a “whitelist” and are required to take nucleic acid tests daily. The tests are updated and verified every day, according to Xu.

“The postal department adopts closed-loop management of inbound mails and parcels from high-risk areas,” said Lan Zhihua, deputy head of the city’s postal administration.

Lan added that all packages and mails must be disinfected thoroughly, and deliverymen are required to wear masks properly throughout the delivery process and keep a safe distance from customers to avoid direct physical contact.

Chen Longxing, director of the General Office of the Bao’an District Government, said the district has provided one-on-one special services such as health counseling, medicine delivery and referral for the elderly, children, pregnant women and critically ill patients.

The district has also set up nucleic acid sampling sites in places with better shade and ventilation as much as possible and added cooling facilities in queuing areas.