Guangzhou reports 4,416 new COVID-19 cases

On the afternoon of December 5, Guangzhou held a COVID-19 Prevention and Control Press Conference to brief the latest epidemic situation in the city.

On December 4, Guangzhou reported 4,416 locally acquired COVID-19 cases. Meantime, 10,630 people were discharged from (makeshift) hospitals, among the total 87,006 discharged since the outbreak of this round of epidemic. Guangzhou is still faced with a complicated situation with both individual cases and cluster outbreaks in multiple places with various transmission chains.

Zhang Yi, Deputy Director General of the Guangzhou Health Commission, said that in order to adopt a scientific and targeted approach in COVID-19 response, and ensure the medical needs of the residents, Guangzhou is ramping up efforts in enhancing its medical treatment capacity, expanding treatment resources of all kinds at all levels, developing a hierarchical and classified diagnosis and treatment plan, and strengthening the training of all medical personnel.

Zhang introduced that recently, Guangzhou is speeding up the standard construction of fever clinics in order to optimize emergency disposal processes, and improve medical services. First, fever clinics should be set up once conditions permit. All general hospitals above Grade II in Guangzhou shall set up fever clinics. At present, there are 93 standardized fever clinics and 137 fever waiting rooms in the city. Second, fever clinics should be open to benefit the public where conditions permit. In principle, fever clinics in all medical institutions shall not suspend operation, and the consultation process shall be continuously optimized to make medical treatment and drug prescription more convenient for the residents. Third, fever clinics should both respond and restore quickly. The reception process should be optimized with a separate area to receive COVID-19 patients. If a patient gets positive in PCR testing or antigen testing, he or she should be urged to wear an N95 mask and quickly guided to a relatively independent area for isolation and diagnosis. The closed-off treatment area for COVID-19 infections should be accurately determined, and should not be expanded arbitrarily. At the same time, the non-closed-off area at fever clinics should continue to receive patients.

Zhang also introduced that Huadu, Baiyun, Panyu, Haizhu and other districts have successively issued "Epidemic Instruction Cards" to provide advice on the must-haves in family pharmacy and the guidance on home care and medical attention. Many Internet hospitals in the city are also available to provide online medical consultation, diagnosis and  drugs delivery services for the residents.

Zhang pointed out that in autumn and winter seasons, people are prone to have respiratory symptoms such as fever, coughs, and sore throats. Residents should drink plenty of water, get more rest, and refrain from going out if possible. If residents must go out to seek medical assistance, they shall visit the fever clinic of the nearest community health service center or of the town health service center,  wear masks correctly, and refrain from taking public transport. "In advancing the implementation of the 20 optimized measures for epidemic prevention and control, we urge residents to play their role and take the responsibility for their own health," Zhang said.

Liu Yunhua, Deputy Secretary of the Communist Youth League of China (CYLC) Guangzhou Municipal Committee, said that since the launch of makeshift hospitals in Guangzhou, the municipality has vigorously promoted volunteering in these facilities. By now, over 3,100 volunteers have formed 30 makeshift hospital volunteering teams and served over 15,000 people. Besides, the CYLC Guangzhou Committee have collected over 52,000 books and over 1,000 toys, established 27 Youth's Home to the makeshift hospitals. The CYLC Guangzhou Committee also hosted live-streaming programs on skills of psychological accommodation and mental preparedness for the public in the epidemic.

In the current outbreak, 287,000 volunteers have served in PCR testing sites, vaccination sites, and epidemiological investigation command centers. The three major operators, China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom, presented their care for volunteers by offering them free mobile data packages for 7 consecutive days, totaling 10G.

"Today is the International Volunteer Day. On behalf of the CYLC Guangzhou Committee, I would like to express the highest respect to the volunteers who workin all positions," Liu said.

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