Guangzhou continues epidemic prevention efforts

Strengthened prevention and control measures against the COVID-19 pandemic were prolonged in most parts of Haizhu district in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, the hardest hit area in the latest spate of the pandemic, local authorities announced.

According to a notice issued by the COVID-19 control and prevention headquarters of Haizhu district early Monday, certain progress has been achieved in the past three days since prevention and control measures against COVID-19 were strengthened on Friday.

However, based on the latest monitoring results, the risk of epidemic transmission has not been completely eliminated, with the pandemic situation in the district remaining uncertain, challenging and complex, according to Su Mingqing, deputy district head of Haizhu.

The official tally showed Haizhu reported 3,712 of the city's 4,065 infections on Sunday alone, with most being reported in the district's Fengyang sub-district.

Residents living in the controlled management areas where strengthened measures being implemented are required to stay at home unless absolutely necessary. Public transportation services including buses, metro, taxis and online car-hailing have been suspended and highway entrances to the areas have been temporarily closed.

Outside the areas, residents are required to present negative results of nucleic acid tests within 24 hours before leaving the district, according to the notice.

Public transportation services and businesses will resume outside the district's controlled areas, with classes for students of secondary and primary schools and kindergartens remaining suspended, the notice said.

The adjustment of prevention and control measures in the district was based on lowered risks of transmission outside the controlled areas, according to Su.

"The transmission chain is very clear and has been effectively handled outside the controlled areas, as only some sporadic cases at community level have been reported there," Su said during a news conference on Monday.

According to Zhang Yi, deputy director of Guangzhou Health Commission, the prevention and control situation in Haizhu is still severe and complex due to reports of some cases in construction sites and schools over the past few days.

"There is epidemic leakage in the surrounding areas of the district's Kanglu area, where most infections were concentrated, with the pandemic still developing in Huazhou and Nanzhou sub-districts," she said.

Sporadic cases were also reported in the city's Baiyun, Panyu and Liwan districts, posing risk of transmission at community level.

"The epidemic situation in the city is in a fluctuating and rising period – the risk of transmission at community level and penetration across districts continues to exist," she said.

Due to the complex pandemic situation, students in the city's seven urban districts, including Xinhua and Huacheng sub-districts in Huadu continued to receive classes online, according to the local education authority.

Classes for students in the city's Nansha, Zengcheng and Conghua districts, which reported fewer COVID-19 infections over the past few days, also continued, according to Chen Xueming, deputy director of Guangzhou Education Bureau, during a news conference on Sunday.