At the press conference on COVID-19 prevention and control in Shanghai held on the morning of April 20, Ms. Wu Qianyu, 1st-Level Inspector with Shanghai Municipal Health Commission reported that the city added 2,494 new local confirmed cases and 16,407 local asymptomatic ones on April 19.
Among the 2,494 confirmed cases, 1,800 were found in the closed loop quarantine. 161 were tracked in the nucleic acid testing of high-risk groups. 533 were former asymptomatic cases. Among the 16,407 asymptomatic cases, 16,178 were found in the closed loop quarantine, and the other 229 were tracked in the screening of high-risk groups.
We have noticed the decreasing COVID-19 infections across the city in the past few days. As the number of sub-districts and towns reporting daily addition of over 100 infections is declining in three days in a row, the community-wide spread of virus has been contained effectively.
In the past three days, we have witnessed an on-going decline of COVID-19 infections in Pudong New Area, Minhang, Songjiang, Qingpu and Putuo districts, stable fluctuation in Xuhui, Yangpu, Hongkou, Changning, Baoshan, and Jiading districts, a small rise in Huangpu District, and a slackened increase in Jing’an District. A downward and stable trend has been shown in Fengxian, Jinshan, and Chongming districts, with the latter two achieving their first-day dynamic case clearing in the communities.
As of 24:00 on April 19, we have had 52 severe cases receiving treatment in designated hospitals.
Shanghai added seven deaths on April 19. Among them, there were two individuals under 60 years old and suffering from concomitant advanced stage lung cancer, pleural effusion, and acute coronary syndrome. The other five individuals were over 70 years old with underlying conditions including concomitant coronary heart disease, cardiac failure, hypertension (very high risk), diabetes, uremia, cerebral infarction, and advanced stage pancreatic tumor. Two of them have been inoculated with COVID-19 vaccines, and the others were unvaccinated. After admission to hospitals, conditions of the seven cases worsened, and they died despite rescue efforts. The direct cause of death is the underlying conditions.
As of 09:00 on April 20, we have screened totally 383,211 close contacts in the city and put the disease control measures in place as far as the infections are concerned. 320,885 of them have tested negative, and the others are being tested.
There were 1,682 local cases discharged from hospitals upon recovery and 25,411 asymptomatic cases lifted from medical observation on April 19. They will return to their residences for follow-up health monitoring.
The individuals discharged from hospitals and fangcang hospitals totaled 27,093 on April 19. Given the increasing number of people discharged, we ask their sub-districts and communities to arrange the pick-up and reception of them well.
We also know that our citizens are facing quite some difficulties in seeking daily medical service these days amid the current challenging and complicated situation to contain COVID-19 across Shanghai. In order to further clarify the process for our citizens to seek medical care and maintain an open channel, the Office of Shanghai Municipal Leading Group on Preventing and Controlling COVID-19 issued the Notice on Process of Seeking Medical Care for Shanghai Citizens amid COVID-19 Control (the Notice) on April 19 to guarantee that our people’s needs of finding basic medical services can be satisfied.
The Notice requires that no sub-districts, towns, neighborhood and village committees, medial institutions or emergency medical centers at various levels across the city may impose limitations on those leaving from or returning to residential compounds for seeking medical care, or on transfer or reception of patients on the grounds that negative PCR test report must be present for check and examination in advance. All medical institutions are required to transfer in time and make appropriate arrangements for patients in severe or critical condition, keep the green channel of emergency medical care open, save and treat patients in need of emergency response in time. The Notice also clarifies the process of seeking medical care for people in the locked-down, managed and controlled and precautionary areas as well as the designated hospitals.
*Source from 上海外事