COVID Outbreak - Spread in Crowded Theater, More Cities Affected
Source: OT-Team(S,J), Paper.cn, Beijing Commercial Daily
The crowded theater in Zhangjiajie, Hunan that held 2000 audience members has caused a fast spread of the virus.
Nanjing: 18 new cases reported
On July 28, 2021, 18 new confirmed local cases were reported in Nanjing, and no new asymptomatic cases were detected.
So far, Nanjing City has reported a total of 171 local confirmed cases.
The third round of citywide nucleic acid testing have been undergoing in the city since July 28.
Zhang Wenhong, director of the Department of Infectious Diseases at Huashan Hospital affiliated to Fudan University, shared his opinion on the epidemic in Nanjing.
He pointed out that Nanjing has already adopted strict prevention and control measures. The next 1-2 weeks are crucial. If there are more cases that are not directly related to Nanjing Lukou Airport, it indicates that the scale of the epidemic will expand, and more decisive measures may be required in larger areas.
Zhangjiajie, Hunan: Related cases in 4 provinces, fast spread in crowded theater
On July 29, Zhangjiajie reported 1 confirmed case.
However, as per the investigation of the cases in other cities, 17 of them are related to Zhangjiajie. Most of them had attended the the first session (18:00-19:00) of the same live show held in Zhangjiajie on July 22nd.
On July 28, a theater staff told the reporters that, everyone was required to wear masks when entering the theater, but there was no guarantee that the audiences would wear masks throughout the show. There were about 2,000 audience members that night during the same session, everyone was sitting next to each other.
Currently the related cases have covered 7 cities in 4 provinces, including:
4 in Dalian, Liaoning;
2 in Beijing;
3 in Chengdu, Sichuan;
2 in Chongqing;
1 in Changsha, Hunan;
1 in Changde, Hunan;
4 in Huai’an, Jiangsu.
All the audiences in the same session of the show have been classified as high-risk population.
Beijing: 2 infected, 654 close contacts
Beijing reported 2 confirmed cases on July 29, the couple are related to the show in Zhangjiajie.
So far 654 close contacts have been investigated in Beijing and all are under centralized isolation and medical observation. Those who live and work in same areas as the confirmed cases, are suggested not to leave Beijing recently.
Chengdu: 5+1 new cases, 2 medium-risk areas set
The epidemiological survey in Chengdu showed that the 5 confirmed cases have all travelled to Zhangjiajie recently, and they have appeared in same locations as the new cases from Dalian, Liaoning Province.
More investigation on the connections between infected cases are undergoing.