Test results that are questionable and now a ship from abroad berthing in Nanjing with a COVID-infected crew, are putting the city on tenterhooks today. But so far, the checks and balances in place are working. No need to worry. Not yet, at least…
As the COVID outbreak continues to plight Suzhou, so the virus has also begun its spread westward, to Wuxi. With the two cities in relative proximity to Nanjing, many local residents are now wondering whether the seemingly inevitable will soon happen here.
Indeed, it’s been a close brush with such a possibility the past few days.
Firstly, on 17 February, in our city’s Yuhuatai District, during the nucleic-acid testing of key personnel, one abnormal result was returned.
Emergency isolation control was swiftly implemented, but after a later review of the test, the result came back negative.
Then just yesterday, 20 February, the threat of another serious outbreak in Nanjing reached its highest level since last July. That’s when a total of 235 positive COVID cases put the city on a 1-month-long lockdown.
It has been reported this afternoon by The Paper that a total of 14 cases were discovered yesterday among the crew of a cargo ship from abroad, during testing conducted upon the vessel’s berthing. The exact point of berthing has not been reported by local media, but it is presumably Nanjing’s Longtan Port that is the largest inland port in China.
The cases comprised 13 positives and 1 asymptomatic. All of them have been transferred to Nanjing Public Health Centre in Tangshan for treatment.
At the port itself, nearby vessels, docks and other relevant places have been subject to disinfection. It is being reported that the ship had originated in Russia.
It’s another close call. But with the infected persons in centralised isolation, there has been little, if no opportunity, for infection to spread to the general populace. The citizens of Nanjing continue to keep their fingers crossed.
