Shijiazhuang resumes expressway and railway traffic after approval despite asymptomatic infections

Reporters : Li Xiaowei, Ju Ningbo / Editor : Fang Jialiang / http://www.chinanews.com/sh/2021/02-08/9408021.shtml / Translation, editing : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA

At 5 pm on 8 February, Shijiazhuang held the 35th press conference on the prevention and control of the covid epidemic. According to a report by Meng Xianghong, deputy mayor of Shijiazhuang City Government, Shijiazhuang  adjusted city traffic control and resumed expressway traffic in an orderly manner. After approval by the relevant state departments, railway passenger transport services will be resumed.

Meng Xianghong said that in order to coordinate the prevention and control of the epidemic and economic and social development, according to the principle of zoning and differentiated precision control and the situation of epidemic prevention and control, after evaluation and judgment by experts, the Shijiazhuang Epidemic Prevention and Control Headquarters decided that Shijiazhuang will be divided into areas since February 8. The hierarchical control measures are adjusted as follows:

1. Shijiazhuang will adjust the city traffic control and orderly restore expressway traffic. After approval by the relevant state departments, railway passenger transport services will be resumed. Civil aviation passenger transport and inter-provincial and inter-city long-distance passenger transport will not resume temporarily.

2. The entire Gaocheng District was adjusted to a medium-risk area. In Zengcun Town, Xiguan Town, Lianzhou Town and other key control areas, in accordance with high-risk management, strictly implement home prevention and control, and strengthen personnel health monitoring. Other areas will resume normal production and life in an orderly manner. Residents will, in principle, move in Gaocheng area under the premise of implementing various normalized prevention and control measures. They should not not gather together or gather to prevent cross-infection and epidemic rebound.

 3. Xinle City was adjusted to a low-risk area. Orderly resume normal production and life, strengthen normalized epidemic prevention and control, and strictly implement personal protective measures. Personnel vouchers, scan codes, and temperature measurements before entering and exiting communities and villages. Do not get together or gather to prevent cross-infection.

4. Shijiazhuang's domain movie theaters, game halls, Internet cafes, song and dance halls, chess and card rooms, gymnasiums, foot baths, training institutions, libraries, cultural centers, museums, memorials, gyms and other highly concentrated and relatively closed places will not resume business temporaily. Restaurants and caterers are temporarily not open for dine-in.

Meng Xianghong stated that the Shijiazhuang Epidemic Prevention and Control Headquarters will dynamically adjust Gaocheng’s risk levels and precision prevention and control strategies in accordance with the State Council’s Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism and the Provincial Office of the Leading Group for Epidemic Response on epidemic prevention and control. At the same time, the Shijiazhuang Government will formulate specific measures to ensure the orderly travel of the people and announce them to the public in a timely manner.

On 8 February, there were no new local confirmed cases of covid in Shijiazhuang, and no new asymptomatic infections. From 2 January to 8 February, a total of 868 local confirmed cases have been reported in the city, and there are currently 11 asymptomatic cases of covid. Except for those who have been cured and discharged from the hospital and released from the centralized medical observers to recover in designated rehabilitation institutions, there are 168 confirmed cases undergoing treatment in the local hospitals.