Guangzhou transfers people to their home destinations amidst COVID-19

People living in high-risk areas across Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, will be transferred to their home destinations based on their willingness, as the city continued its efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a local health official.

"We will formulate an optimized scheme during transferring people living in risk areas by fully understand their needs, based on building epidemic-free communities," said Zhang Yi, deputy director and spokeswoman of Guangzhou Health Commission.

In a press conference on Thursday afternoon, Zhang said district governments across the city would carry out the transferring of people in an orderly manner to prevent leakage of the virus to their home destinations.

"The transferring is aimed at scientifically and accurately ensuring needs of returning home by people living in the high-risk areas," she said.

In Kanglu, a high-risk area of Haizhu district, which is hard hit by the latest outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, there is a population of more than 100,000 people per square meter, according to early sources with the local disease control and prevention.

The risk of virus transmission at community level across the city is still high as sporadic cluster cases have been reported in several districts, according to Zhang.

Guangzhou reported 428 new locally transmitted confirmed cases and 7,192 asymptomatic carriers on Wednesday, of which 50 were found at community level, according to local health authorities.

"Clusters of new cases have been reported in districts of Tianhe, Huadu, Conghua, Zengcheng and Panyu, involving in densely-populated areas in urban villages or social institutions, posing a risk of virus transmission at community level," she said.

Sporadic cases were also reported in districts of Yuexiu, Liwan, Huangpu and Nansha districts, according to Zhang.

Hardest-hit Haizhu reported 7,243 new infections on Wednesday alone, still highly concentrated high-risk areas of Kanglu, Datang and Longtan, with the number of newly infected people within 72 hours in the district's controlled areas decreasing day-on-day, according to Zhang.

According to Fu Xiaochu, deputy district head of Haizhu, some 913 people living in the district's high-risk areas had been transferred to their home destinations.

"People's willingness of returning home will be registered by door-to-door visits to buildings or living units which had no new cases for more than three consecutive days," said Fu, during a press conference on Thursday.

A large list of people with their health conditions will be formed, based on negative reports of their nucleic acid test results in recent five days, according to Fu.

As of Thursday, 1,414 people living in the areas of Kanglu, Datang and Longtan have been included in the list, according to Fu.

"We will contact the disease control authorities of their home destinations timely, providing security assistance such as buying tickets for people who are willing to return home," he said.