Abstract
To report about the successful outbreak containment of COVID-19 in Shantou, one of the prefectural cities of Guangdong province in the mainland China. All patients confirmed as having COVID-19 between 23 January and 25 March 2020 by RT-PCR assay in the clinical lab of Shantou CDC were included and divided into three groups based on the source of identification: hospital diagnosis, contact tracing, and community screening. Collected data was analyzed and compared among these three groups. A total of 25 COVID-19 cases were identified in Shantou. The first case was identified on 14 January 2020 at one of two COVID-19 dedicated hospitals in Shantou. The majority of the cases were either imported from Wuhan or linked to Wuhan/Hubei. The median lag time for diagnosis (i.e., the time between symptom onset and case confirmation) was 2 days (IQR, 2.0-4.0) for all cases, 9 days (IQR, 7.0-10.0) for the cases diagnosed in hospitals, 2 days (IQR, 1.5-2.0) for the cases in contact tracing, and 4 days (IQR, 2.5-4.5) for cases in community screening, with a significantly longer diagnosis lag time in hospitals (p = 0.003). Multivariate linear regression models showed larger family size and severe cases as the significant predictor for increasing number of close contacts. The current pandemic appears to exist for an uncertain period. The early containment measures applied in Shantou, a city with insufficient healthcare resources for COVID-19, seems to be appropriate for cities or areas with similar profiles.
Highlights
This study aimed to report about the successful outbreak containment of COVID-19 in Shantou—one of the prefectural cities of Guangdong province in the mainland China
A total of 25 COVID-19 cases were identified in Shantou
Socio-demographic characteristics A total of 25 COVID-19 cases were reported to Shantou Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) between 23 January and 30 March 2020, with 21 cases as mild, 3 cases as severe, and 1 case as very severe
Summary
To report about the successful outbreak containment of COVID-19 in Shantou, one of the prefectural cities of Guangdong province in the mainland China. Methodology: All patients confirmed as having COVID-19 between 23 January and 25 March 2020 by RT-PCR assay in the clinical lab of Shantou CDC were included and divided into three groups based on the source of identification: hospital diagnosis, contact tracing, and community screening. The fatality rate of COVID-19 correlates with the infrastructure and preparedness of the healthcare system concerned [2, 3] It is no doubt about the importance of the early interventions during this outbreak, especially many of the world’s health systems and services are fragile [2]. Studies sharing successful containments of COVID-19 outbreak in cities, areas, or countries with the international community are needed for the regions still fighting against the outbreak
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