Shanghai quick to contain coronavirus outbreak

Gaining experience

The orderly and accurate work showed that those newly confirmed with COVID-19 were among the virus transmission chains already discovered in the epidemiological investigation.

The first three new cases in Shanghai, reported on Jan 21, involved two hospital logistics workers who were among staff members regularly screened for the virus, and a friend of one of the employees.

Twelve of the other 15 cases involved close contacts of those confirmed with the disease, and the remaining three were found through screening.

Shanghai is aiming to become one of the world's safest cities for public health by 2025.

Zhang, who is also director of the Department of Infectious Diseases at Huashan Hospital Affiliated with Fudan University, called for a powerful, multi-layered team of public health professionals to be set up from grassroots to city level.

Such a refined management structure would help in coping with future outbreaks, whether they are caused by coronavirus or a new source, Zhang added.