Assessment of Coronavirus Disease 2019 Community Containment Strategies in Shenzhen, China

Zhang, Xiao-Ming; Zhou, Hui-Er; Zhang, Wen-Wu; Dou, Qing-Li; Li, Ye; Wei, Jian; Hu, Rui; Liu, Jiangping; Cheng, Andy S. K.

IMPORTANCE: A new outbreak of pneumonia caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 in Wuhan, China, is spreading rapidly around the globe. Limited information on control in community settings is available. OBJECTIVE: To detail measures enacted within a community to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and to evaluate the spread of COVID-19 associated with implementation of the program. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This case series study details the implementation of prevention measures in a specific community setting among community-dwelling individuals exposed to or at risk of COVID-19 in Haiyu, Shenzhen, China, from January 23 to April 10, 2020. EXPOSURES: Community containment strategies for tracking, quarantine, and management were strictly, cooperatively, and effectively implemented by a team that included a general practitioner, a community manager, and public safety bureau officials. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Number of locally acquired cases with indirect links to confirmed COVID-19 cases. Diagnosis with COVID-19 was confirmed when throat swab samples tested positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 on reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: Approximately 34 686 individuals live in Haiyu, including 2382 residents aged 65 years or older. Seven individuals with COVID-19 acquired outside the community (age, 20-70 years; 3 [42%] women) were moved from quarantine to a hospital for standard isolation treatment. A total of 20 people who were asymptomatic and who had had direct contact with these individuals were closely observed by health care workers at a nearby hotel. Additionally, 800 individuals considered to be at higher risk were moved from quarantine to home isolation for 14 days. There were no locally acquired cases of COVID-19 with indirect links reported in the Haiyu community from the time that the study began on January 23, 2020, to April 10, 2020. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: These findings suggest that cooperation among the authorities of multiple sectors allowed for the implementation of preventive measures that were associated with limited community transmission.