Sanitization team head tells of tricky work as residents go into quarantine

Just hours after he arrived in Shanghai, Lu Wenhua was told to conduct disinfection work in Lianqin, an urban village hit hard by COVID-19 in Beicai township, Pudong New Area.

"This is not an easy job, because the alleyways between buildings in the village are very narrow," said Lu, head of a disinfection team from Wuhan, capital of Hubei province.

"But the village needed to be sanitized urgently and thoroughly. Local humidity and dirty conditions affected the air flow and provided a breeding ground for the virus," he said, adding that this situation could have been responsible for the recent rise in COVID-19 cases.

After residents were taken to centralized quarantine sites on the evening of April 16, Lu's 180-strong team disinfected the alleyways and public restrooms in the village overnight.

The team members, who were divided into 25 groups, then began sanitizing corridors in buildings, with extra attention paid to disinfecting objects frequently touched by villagers, including doorknobs and tables.

"All these objects were wiped several times with alcohol," Lu said, adding that this disinfection work took five days and covered every area of the village.

After the epidemic control center in Pudong New Area approved the disinfection results, the villagers began returning home on April 22. In addition to continuing to monitor their health, the residents were provided with disinfectant to sanitize their homes.

Bao Youbo, who assisted Lu's team in Beicai, said that as disinfection is effective in curbing the spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, it will continue to be carried out across the town, especially in urban villages such as Lianqin.

Beicai has been divided into three zones, with each one being disinfected regularly, he said. "Meanwhile, we've also intensified efforts to sanitize hotels and schools.

"In addition, we will disinfect homes where there have been cases of infection, along with those of close contacts, immediately after the cases are found. Patients will be transferred to makeshift hospitals or quarantine sites to reduce the spread of the virus as quickly as we can," he added.

In the middle of last month, the Shanghai government announced a citywide disinfection campaign, stating that this was a major task amid the resurgence of the epidemic.

It stressed that buildings housing COVID-19 patients must be thoroughly sanitized, adding that disinfection of key public areas and workplaces such as office buildings, construction sites and care centers for senior residents should be further strengthened.