Guangzhou is gritting its teeth to deal with the "most complex and severe epidemic situation in the past three years".

According to the report of Guangzhou Health Commission on November 9, on November 8, there were 91 newly confirmed cases and 2546 asymptomatic infections in Guangzhou. According to the data from November 1 to November 8, the number of newly infected people in a single day has risen continuously these days, breaking 1000 on November 5, 2000 on November 7, and more than 10000 in eight days. The epidemic situation in Guangzhou is still at a high level.

Zhang Yi, deputy director and spokesman of the Guangzhou Municipal Health Commission, said at the Guangzhou epidemic prevention and control news conference on November 5 that Guangzhou is currently facing the most complex and severe epidemic situation in the past three years. I hope that all citizens must understand the current situation, cooperate with the overall situation of prevention and control, reasonably arrange work and life, and support the current prevention and control measures with practical actions.

Strengthening epidemic prevention and control measures

Haizhu District is a key area for the prevention and control of this round of epidemic in Guangzhou. According to the data from the press conference on epidemic prevention and control in Guangzhou on November 9, 2637 new cases of local infection were found in Guangzhou from 0 to 24 o'clock on November 8. Among them, 2442 cases were newly increased in Haizhu District on a single day, mainly concentrated in Kanglu District of Fengyang Street and Kecun District of Chigang Street.

Why is the epidemic so serious in this area?

It is understood that the total area of Haizhu District is 90.21 square kilometers. According to the results of the seventh national population census, at zero o'clock on November 1, 2020, the permanent population of Haizhu District is 1.819 million, and the population density is about 20,000 people/square kilometers. There are many villages in the city in the areas of Hakcun, Kanglu, Datang, etc., which are densely populated and frequently mobile.

Zhang Zhoubin, secretary of the Party Committee and spokesman of the Guangzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention, analyzed at the Guangzhou epidemic prevention and control news conference on November 6 that the number of new infections in Haizhu District reached a new high, largely because of the rapid transmission and strong concealment of the Omikjon mutant, and because the virus is extremely easy to cause aerosol transmission in an environment with dense buildings and narrow lanes. At the same time, The extremely high population density also creates a suitable environment for the rapid spread of the virus.

At the same time, Zhang Yi mentioned that there was an overflow of personnel in the medium and high risk control area of Haizhu District. Through video interviews, the flow investigators found that there were still some citizens who violated the prevention and control regulations, moved the sealed water horse, went out or delivered materials without permission, resulting in new positive cases in the adjacent non medium and high risk areas such as Ruibao Street and Chigang Street.

"It is very difficult to manage this area. The risk of epidemic spillover is increasing, and sporadic epidemics have emerged in the surrounding areas. In addition, Haizhu Island and other districts in Guangzhou are closely linked in work and life, and these sporadic epidemics have also led to related epidemics in some surrounding districts recently." Zhang Yi said at the press conference on November 5.

In recent days, the control measures of Haizhu District have been continuously upgraded. On October 31, the Notice of Haizhu District on Strengthening Social Epidemic Prevention and Control Measures (VI) was released, requiring the whole district (except Pazhou Street) to stop unnecessary flows and activities. On November 4, the Notice of Haizhu District on Strengthening Social Epidemic Prevention and Control Measures (VII) was released, which decided to strictly control the flow of people and implement temporary traffic control from November 5 to November 7. On November 7, Haizhu District issued a notice again, announcing that the social control measures would be extended to November 11.

Other regions are also affected by the epidemic to varying degrees.

Zhang Zhoubin, Secretary of the Party Committee of the Guangzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said at the press conference on November 8: "At present, the risk of the whole Haizhu Island is relatively high. There are still some high-risk and medium risk areas around the area where the temporary control is removed. In addition, Tianhe, Liwan, Panyu, and even Baiyun, which are closely connected with Haizhu, still have some sporadic or aggregated outbreaks."

In the morning of November 9, Liwan District issued a notice on strengthening the social epidemic prevention and control measures. After research and judgment, it was decided to strictly control the movement of personnel, temporary traffic control and other prevention and control measures throughout the region from 9 a.m. on November 9 to 24 p.m. on November 13.

In the afternoon of the same day, Panyu District issued the Notice on Strengthening the Prevention and Control Measures for Social Epidemics (No. 51), announcing that from November 9 to November 13, 2022, strict control of personnel mobility, temporary traffic control and other prevention and control measures will be implemented throughout the region.

Does it affect residents' life?

According to the citizens interviewed by China Economic Weekly, the life of many interviewees is still stable at present. Although the distribution of materials is sometimes delayed, the overall supply is sufficient.

Xiaojin brushed the news that "Haizhu District is about to strengthen social control" at nearly 10 o'clock on the evening of November 4, and she didn't pay much attention at that time. At 10:42, the official account of "Guangzhou Haizhu Release" pushed the article "Notice of Haizhu District on Strengthening Social Epidemic Prevention and Control Measures (7)", and when the news came out, her WeChat groups exploded. Later, Xiaojin packed up his things overnight and hurried to his parents' home. Although it is also in Haizhu District, Xiaojin's rented community is near the Zhongda Cloth Market, less than two kilometers away from Kangle Village and Lujiang, the "epicenter" of the epidemic in Haizhu District, and the place where his parents live is less risky.

In the past few days at home, Xiaojin has been shopping on online platforms such as Hema and Meituan. "Now we can still order takeout and buy food smoothly. Although we can't go directly to our home as before, we are still at ease."

Li Feng, the person in charge of Meituan's food shopping, told China Economic Weekly on November 8 that at present, many Meituan's food shopping sites have seen a large increase in orders, and the number of orders at some sites has increased by about four times than usual. The platform will increase the stock volume to about 3 times of the daily level to ensure the demand for commodities such as rice, flour, grain and oil, fresh fruits and vegetables, meat, poultry, eggs and milk. In terms of distribution, sorting personnel in Haizhu District increased by about 30%, and riders increased by 50%.

Zhang Yu lives in Nanzhou Street, Haizhu District. Before November 8, except for a few buildings where he lived, he implemented the prevention and control measures of "no one leaves the area, and people take things from different peaks". Other residents can go out of the area freely. However, since November 8, the prevention and control of the cell has been upgraded, and the cell can only enter but not leave.

Today, he buys living materials through online platforms such as JD Home and Meituan Food, and stores them for about three days each time. "I just placed an order on November 8, and the platform products are quite complete and of good quality. They will be delivered to the entrance of the community in about an hour, and then I will take them away from the security guards of the community."

According to reports, the community opposite him was closed on November 7. Suspected positive cases also appeared in the next building recently. Many people in the building need to be transferred. Not far behind his community was a village in the city, which had been closed down at the beginning of the epidemic in Haizhu District.

In terms of transportation, Cai Changjun, deputy general manager of Guangzhou Metro Group Co., Ltd., introduced at the Guangzhou epidemic prevention and control press conference on November 8 that at present, 40 stations of Guangzhou Metro have stopped external services, the affected transfer stations retain the transfer function, and 2 stations (Jiangxia and Dashadong) close some entrances and exits; The whole line of Haizhu tram is closed.

These days, Xiao Luo, who lives in Panyu District, has experienced the feeling of "Panyu stops at Tianhe". "The subway of Line 2 has become faster. Now some stations will not stop as long as they are not transfer stations. The commute distance of more than an hour has been shortened by about 10 minutes in the past." He said.

Recently, the health codes of Xiao Luo and his family have also been yellowed. Last weekend (November 7), I went to the yellow code point for detection and waited in line for two hours before the detection. As a staff member of a state-owned enterprise, he has been waiting for orders to support Haizhu, while his colleagues have gone wave after wave. With the new announcement of Panyu District to strengthen social epidemic prevention and control measures on the afternoon of the 9th, Xiao Luo's plan has increased more uncertainty.