COVID-19 outbreak prevention by early containment in Shantou, China

Abstract

Introduction: To report about the successful outbreak containment of COVID-19 in Shantou, one of the prefectural cities of Guangdong province in the mainland China.

Methodology: All patients confirmed as having COVID-19 between 23 January and 25 March 2020 by RT-PCR assay in the clinical lab of Shantou CDC were included and divided into three groups based on the source of identification: hospital diagnosis, contact tracing, and community screening. Collected data was analyzed and compared among these three groups.

Results: A total of 25 COVID-19 cases were identified in Shantou. The first case was identified on 14 January 2020 at one of two COVID-19 dedicated hospitals in Shantou. The majority of the cases were either imported from Wuhan or linked to Wuhan/Hubei. The median lag time for diagnosis (i.e., the time between symptom onset and case confirmation) was 2 days (IQR, 2.0-4.0) for all cases, 9 days (IQR, 7.0-10.0) for the cases diagnosed in hospitals, 2 days (IQR, 1.5-2.0) for the cases in contact tracing, and 4 days (IQR, 2.5-4.5) for cases in community screening, with a significantly longer diagnosis lag time in hospitals (p = 0.003). Multivariate linear regression models showed larger family size and severe cases as the significant predictor for increasing number of close contacts.

Conclusions: The current pandemic appears to exist for an uncertain period. The early containment measures applied in Shantou, a city with insufficient healthcare resources for COVID-19, seems to be appropriate for cities or areas with similar profiles.