(Source: China Daily)
SHANGHAI -- Around 10,000 medics nationwide have rushed to China's business hub Shanghai to aid the megacity to fight against the resurging COVID-19.
On Sunday, thousands of medics arrived in Shanghai with a population of 25 million by high-speed trains departing from provincial-level regions such as Tianjin, Hubei, Shandong and Jiangxi.
"Some of our 90-strong team had been to Wuhan, Hubei Province, or designated hospitals for COVID-19 control in Tianjin. They are also experienced," said Wang Zengguang, head of a medical team from Tianjin Medical University General Hospital. "We are determined to secure a victory in completing our task."
Earlier medical teams coming from the nearby provinces of Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Anhui have already arrived in Shanghai to join in the fight, according to the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission.
On Saturday, Shanghai reported 438 confirmed locally transmitted COVID-19 cases and 7,788 asymptomatic carriers.
A resident does antigen testing in Shanghai, April 3, 2022. Shanghai launched citywide antigen testing on Sunday (April 3, 2022) and will conduct nucleic acid testing on Monday (April 4, 2022) amid efforts to contain the recent resurgence of COVID-19 cases in the metropolis, according to local authorities. [Photo/Xinhua]
RESOLUTE MOVES
Vice-Premier Sun Chunlan on Saturday urged resolute and swift moves to stem the spread of COVID-19 in Shanghai in the shortest time possible, issuing her call during an inspection visit to the city.
Sun, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, stressed unswerving adherence to the dynamic zero-COVID approach and mobilizing COVID-19 testing capacity, medical personnel, and COVID-19 prevention supplies to support Shanghai in the fight against the epidemic.
The vice premier called for stepping up efforts to ensure that all those in need are tested, isolated, hospitalized or treated.
She also stressed strict closed-loop management for key industries and institutions to ensure the normal operation of core functions and the stability of supply and industrial chains.
Shanghai will conduct citywide nucleic acid testing on Monday after citywide antigen testing on Sunday.
The measures were aimed at completely eliminating potential risks, cutting off the chain of transmission, curbing the spread of the virus, and achieving dynamic zero-COVID as soon as possible, Wu Qianyu, an official with the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission, told a press conference on Sunday.
A staff member works at a warehouse in Minhang district of Shanghai, April 1, 2022. [Photo/Xinhua]
RACING TO SECURE SUPPLIES
Authorities and suppliers in Shanghai have been racing to secure daily supplies for residents under closed-off management.
Shanghai has been working to increase sources of supplies and coordinate with suppliers to expand procurement channels to boost market supply, local authorities told a press conference.
Temporary vegetable warehouses have been set up for extra storage in the city and existing warehouses are boosting their capacity to deliver goods.
In Pudong District, a warehouse with the capacity to store up to 1,500 tonnes was set up, with around 200 tonnes of vegetables from across China entering the warehouse every day.
In grocery delivery platform Dingdong's Chenta Warehouse, employees have been working around the clock since March to meet the surging customer needs.
With an area of over 23,000 square meters, the warehouse is one of the largest sorting centers of fruit and vegetables in the Puxi area. Over 1 million fruit and vegetable items are sent to more than 100 distribution warehouses across western Shanghai.
Xu Huacheng, who is in charge of the warehouse, said that the warehouse has almost doubled its employees from around 300 to nearly 600 since March.
"Our supplies are overall stable, and the company has arranged more storage space for handling the surging needs," Xu said.
SHANGHAI PORT
The Shanghai Port is still operating normally and there is no congestion of container ships, the Shanghai International Port Group Co., Ltd. said in a statement on Sunday.
A total of 52 ships are waiting for handling at the port, including nine container ships, while four of the nine are waiting for berthing, according to the statement.
Faced with the impacts of the epidemic, Shanghai Port has rolled out a series of measures to protect the safety of the port, ensure its normal operation and guarantee the stability of the industrial chain and supply chain in the Yangtze River Delta and the globe, the statement said.