Fever clinics prepare amid scattered COVID-19 cases

Amid a spattering of local COVID-19 infections, China is ramping up preparedness at fever clinics nationwide and striving to prevent hospital-acquired infections, the National Health Commission said on Thursday.

The border city of Manzhouli, Inner Mongolia autonomous region, reported one new locally transmitted case and one new asymptomatic patient on Thursday, bringing the total number of confirmed infections in the region to 21. The first two cases were detected on Nov 21, according to the local government.

In recent weeks, Shanghai, Tianjin, Qingdao in Shandong province and Shenzhen in Guangdong province have all registered new local infections, with the majority involved in handling cold, imported food products from overseas.

Wu Liangyou, deputy director of the commission's disease control bureau, said the worsening pandemic, the colder temperatures in winter and the increase in population mobility and large events in China have all threatened to accelerate the spread of the virus in the country.

To cope with the rising risk, Jiao Yahui, an official with the disease control and prevention bureau, said the vital role of fever clinics in sending early alerts should be amplified.

She said several domestic outbreaks, including the one in Beijing in June that is linked to a wholesale market and the cluster involving staff workers at an airport in Shanghai, were first detected in fever clinics after patients tested positive.

Most of the remaining outbreaks were identified thanks to regular screenings and testing in the cold-chain sector, she said during a news conference held by the State Council's Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism.

"Since China began implementing regular disease control measures in April, local governments have all taken action to upgrade or build fever clinics," Jiao said.

According to Jiao, at least 7,000 fever clinics in general hospitals meeting new requirements have been set up recently. "General hospitals and children's hospitals are our focus now," she said.

Newly built fever clinics are located in relatively isolated areas and are equipped with separate medical isolation rooms, according to Jiao.

"Medical workers at fever clinics will also receive additional training to sharpen their ability to identify COVID-19 infections," she said. "More than 4.3 million healthcare workers nationwide have participated in online training so far."

According to Jiao, Wuhan in Hubei province, the city hit hardest by the virus earlier this year, is a front-runner in the nationwide renovation of fever clinics.

"There are 62 fever clinics at local hospitals and 203 facilities capable of receiving feverish patients in communities, formulating a network that provides convenient access to medical services for residents exhibiting relevant conditions," she said.

The rising risk of virus transmission also piles pressure on the ability of hospitals to prevent their patients and staff workers from contracting the virus at medical institutions.

Inspections on efforts devoted to stamping out hospital-acquired infections have also been ramped up, and people responsible for such infections will be thoroughly investigated, Jiao said.