Application and effects of fever screening system in the prevention of nosocomial infection in the only designated hospital of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Shenzhen, China
Ting Huang, Yinsheng Guo, Shaxi Li, Yanqun Zheng, Lin Lei, Xianhu Zeng, Qiao Zhong, Yingxia Liu, Lei Liu
Abstract
To the Editor-The novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 causes a severe acute respiratory disease named coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) by the World Health Organization (WHO). It was first identified by Chinese scientists in December 2019. 1,2 Infection with this virus occurs through human-to-human transmission, like SARS and MERS. It has been reported that COVID-19 can spread through droplets, aerosols, skin-to-skin contact or digestive tract. 3,4 By March 1, 2020, >80,000 cases had been confirmed in China; meanwhile, >7,200 cases had been diagnosed in the other 61 countries, including Korea, Iran, the United States, and elsewhere. 5 As a megalopolis with a large floating population, the epidemic situation in Shenzhen developed rapidly. 6 On January 11, the first case was confirmed in Shenzhen; it was also the first case in Guangdong Province. 7 By March 1, a total of 418 cases had been confirmed in just 50 days. In this outbreak, the Third People's Hospital of Shenzhen has been the only designated hospital for COVID-19 patients in Shenzhen. From January 11 through March 1, the average number of confirmed patients per day was 18.44 16.18 (Fig. The maximum number of admitted patients was 56 for 1 day. Among them, the average number of severely ill patients was 4.04 5.10 and the average number of critically ill patients per day was 0.84 2.23. The peak 1-day maximum number of severely ill patients was 17 and the peak 1-day maximum number of critically ill patients was 12. In total, 31 infectious diseases areas, 508 wards, and 1,374 hospital beds were applied for COVID-19 patients.