Shanghai at critical stage of virus battle

Shanghai is still at a critical stage in its fight against the current COVID-19 outbreak, but a turning point is expected as the city continues its grid-screening strategy, experts said.

The city has seen nearly 6,000 COVID-19 infections since the first case in the latest outbreak was reported on March 1, with more than 5,700 of them asymptomatic, according to statistics released by the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission.

Zhang Wenhong, head of the infectious disease department at Huashan Hospital, wrote on his Sina Weibo micro blog on Thursday that the current strategy adopted by the city is aimed at breaking transmission chains by rotating grid testing and lockdowns of areas with risk of exposure to the novel coronavirus.

"Statistics have shown that new infections among people not in quarantined areas now account for around 10 percent of the total, which is a sign that the current outbreak is gradually coming under control," he said. "Although we've not reached the peak, the conditions for a turning point are taking shape."

Wu Jinglei, director of the municipal health commission, told a news conference on Thursday that 983 new locally transmitted COVID-19 infections were found on Wednesday, with 979 of them asymptomatic, and 882 were found in quarantine.

"Some communities in Shanghai are still undergoing grid quarantine and testing," he said, adding that the city is still at a critical stage in curbing the spread of the virus.

Salyonn Koh, a Singaporean business consultant who lives in Shanghai's Minhang district, said her community was locked down on March 18.

"I managed to stock up a few days' worth of food before the lockdown, so it was all right," she said. "The biggest struggle is a sense of uncertainty, not knowing what's going to happen. The turning point came when I looked out my window and saw volunteers working hard.

"It's like, 'hey, you're not alone at all, everyone's in this together.'"

She was inspired to write a song during her community's lockdown, which encourages people to "turn the other way to see the light in the dark in this place we call our home".

"It may come in the form of little things like just looking at how people are in this together, how health workers and volunteers are putting their hearts and souls in making sure that the situation is under control," she said.

"Or just simply being grateful for what we have－a coffee machine at home that you haven't used in a long while, not having to do laundry so often, or waking up each day knowing that you still get to work online."

Lu Dan, who lives close to a medium-risk area, has spent 11 days in quarantine since one case was spotted in the block where she lives.

She said the community gave each household two bags containing dumplings and buns. While it now took longer to have vegetables delivered, "I rationed my daily meal so that I don't need to order much, because the volunteers have already worked very hard, and I do not want to put extra burden on them," she said.

Li Rui, the deputy head of Minhang district, where two villages were elevated to medium-risk areas on Thursday, said the local government is doing its best to ensure the supply of food and medicine to residents in quarantine.

"We've given testing priority to essential workers of e-commerce platforms to get them back to work, and have also coordinated with private and State-owned companies to guarantee a sufficient supply of resources," he said.