A month later, China will officially usher in the peak of the 40-day Spring Festival. The choice between dealing with the widespread spread of the Aomi Kerong strain and going home for the New Year has once again become a difficult problem in front of us.
In the early hours of this morning, Zhang Wenhong spoke out through Weibo. He believes that "it can be seen from the WHO expert consensus that the dynamic zeroing strategy implemented by China, the so-called PHSM (public health and social measures) has been widely adopted internationally for the current Opmi Kerong response". The "dynamic zeroing" capability is currently the most critical public health strategy.
On December 11, Mi Feng, spokesman of the National Health Commission, introduced that the current global pandemic of the new crown pneumonia epidemic is still in the development stage, the number of new confirmed cases in the week continues to exceed 4 million, the mortality rate has increased, the Aumi Kerong mutation has further increased the uncertainty of the epidemic, and the pressure of China's "foreign defense import" continues to increase. Wu Liangyou, deputy director of the Disease Control Bureau of the National Health and Health Commission, said that New Year's Day and the Spring Festival are coming, and the risk of epidemic transmission is relatively large, and greater efforts should be made to scientifically and accurately prevent the epidemic, and if an epidemic is found, it will be completely extinguished.
Can I return to my hometown for the Spring Festival in 2022? This is the biggest concern of many Chinese working outside the home. Before the Spring Festival last year, the state issued a "local New Year" initiative, and many people stayed at work for the New Year. According to Xinhua News Agency reported on March 8, the number of passengers sent by railways, highways, waterways and civil aviation in the Spring Festival in 2021 is expected to reach 870 million passengers, because all localities actively responded to the call for "local New Year", and passenger traffic dropped significantly compared with previous years, down 70.9% from the same period in 2019 and 40.8% from the same period in 2020.
As for whether they can return to their hometown this year, the relevant state departments have not yet issued policies, but recently Zhangjiakou Economic Development Zone, Guangxi Pingxiang City, Yinchuan, Shanxi and other regions have issued local New Year initiatives for different groups. On December 8, the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission also issued an initiative not to leave Shanghai unless necessary during the New Year's Day Spring Festival in 2022.
Hangzhou: The staff of the sub-close company is isolated in the hotel
Zhao Shuai, a 30-year-old man in his hometown of Anhui, has worked in Hangzhou for many years, and he did not return to his hometown due to the outbreak of the epidemic in the Spring Festival in 2020, and before the Spring Festival in 2021, Hangzhou issued a proposal to advocate the New Year on the spot, "non-essential not to leave Hangzhou, reduce travel gatherings, and help prevent and control the epidemic", considering that the child is still young, returning to his hometown by train, the risk of new crown virus transmission is high, so he and his family are in Hangzhou for the New Year.
Zhao Shuai also remembers that last year, the company issued a "New Year gift package" with a post subsidy, he took his wife, children and parents to visit the New Year remotely with relatives and friends in his hometown, but he could not give his grandparents some regrets, according to the customs of his hometown, it is a very important ceremony to give graves and worship to his deceased relatives in the New Year.
In order to make up for his regrets, this year he planned to return to his hometown for the New Year, but he did not expect that when the epidemic in Hangzhou came, he was isolated due to close contact, and the return plan was stranded.
On December 6, two of Zhao Shuai's colleagues traveled from Hangzhou to Nanjing on a business trip to talk about business, and they took the high-speed rail to and from the high-speed train. As a result, because there were confirmed cases of new crown in the same carriage, colleagues and confirmed cases were only two seats apart, becoming close contacts, and Zhao Shuai became a sub-close contact. On December 12, they received a notification and quickly did a nucleic acid test, and the results were negative. On the 13th, Zhao Shuai was pulled by an ambulance to a hotel for isolation, and the length of the isolation time was not determined, "The administrator said that the length of the isolation time should wait for a period of time to see if the close contact is a confirmed case."
"I used to watch the news and always felt that the people who were quarantined were far away, and I didn't expect to be one of them." Zhao Shuai said that now his wife and children are isolated at home, at first there is still some fear, but after a few days found that there is nothing, twice a day to take the temperature, someone to send three meals, the body temperature has been normal, most of his work can be completed online, but every day in the house is too stuffy.
"The code on my colleague's phone has turned yellow, and mine hasn't changed yet, just with an asterisk." Zhao Shuai said that he had returned to his hometown once this summer, but he felt different from the Spring Festival homecoming for the New Year, one was the atmosphere of the New Year, and the other was that many relatives were also working in other places, which was not easy to see, and only the Spring Festival could be gathered.
On December 13, 2021, in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, after the office building was unsealed, quarantined people waited outside Hangzhou Qianjiang International Times Square to get on the bus.
Mixia, who has lived in Beijing for more than 20 years, has also changed her plans due to the epidemic, and she planned to take her children back to Hangzhou during the Spring Festival to reunite with her parents and grandmothers, and to see the house and handle various procedures for her children to transfer to school next year. "The school is very strict with primary school students, and when leaving Beijing, it is easy to report and fill in the form, and it is easy to leave Beijing, but it is not easy to say when you come back." Misha still remembers that in March 2020, when the epidemic in China was at its worst, she returned to Beijing with her children, and her ticket was forced to be changed twice, and she almost couldn't come back.
In the Spring Festival of 2021, the family spent the New Year in Beijing, but did not dare to return to Hangzhou, "I remember that at that time, children returning to Beijing from other places had to be quarantined at home for 14 days, and we were afraid of delaying school and did not go back." Mixia herself judged that she would most likely not be able to go back this Spring Festival, "Even if she returns to Hangzhou, she still doesn't know what the control policy for returning to Beijing will be, in case the itinerary code is starry and yellow, it will delay too many things."
Shaoxing: It is difficult for enterprise employees to return to their hometowns
Li Zheng, who works for a media outlet in Shanghai, told Occasional Cure that he summed up his strategy for coping with the epidemic in the past two years: insisting on staggered peak travel. Once the epidemic subsides, he will take annual leave, return to his hometown in Inner Mongolia to visit relatives or travel and run errands in other places, and once the epidemic prevention and control becomes tighter, he will not leave Shanghai. Usually do not rush to the May Day, Eleventh and Spring Festival holidays, this time large-scale tourist flow, crowded everywhere, the risk of infection is also high.
Li Zheng's experience seems to have some truth. Recently, Wang Guangfa, director of the Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine at Peking University First Hospital, said in an interview with the media that large-scale personnel movement may cause crowds, the spread of the epidemic will accelerate, and the difficulty of prevention and control will increase. However, as far as the current domestic prevention and control measures are concerned, the risk of proliferation is not too high. In the normalization of epidemic control, a set of experiences has been summarized, that is, "precise prevention and control", that is, if an epidemic occurs in a certain area, then the flow of people in the region may need to be controlled and adopt a "local New Year" approach.
Chen Zhuo, an associate professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the University of Georgia, agrees, telling Occasional Cure that large-scale movements during the Spring Festival do lead to an increased risk of transmission of the new crown virus, especially since the Aomi Kerong variant is more contagious than the Delta strain. During Thanksgiving at the end of November this year, the number of COVID-19 infections in the United States surged. Thanksgiving, similar to the Spring Festival, is an important holiday for family reunions and travel in the United States, because of the high mobility of people and the gathering of people at the peak of travel, resulting in an increase in new crown infection cases. Chen Zhuo expects that with the advent of Christmas and New Year's Day, The number of Americans going out, gathering, traveling and other activities will increase, and there will be a new wave of new coronavirus infection cases.
According to the epidemic information released by Zhejiang, from December 5 to 16:00 on The 16th, a total of 343 confirmed cases were reported in the three places in Zhejiang. Among them, there were 64 cases in Ningbo, 254 cases in Shaoxing, 1 case in asymptomatic infection, and 24 cases in Hangzhou. According to the news released by Zhejiang on December 13, as of 16:00 on December 13, 52,000 people have been centrally isolated and 540,000 people have been placed in isolation control.
Zhejiang has strengthened the control measures for travel, Hangzhou Xiaoshan District, Ningbo Zhenhai District, Shaoxing Shangyu District personnel strictly restricted from leaving the province by rail, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Shaoxing and other counties (cities, districts) of other cities must hold a 48-hour negative nucleic acid test certificate when leaving the province. This policy will continue until March 15, 2022. However, once the risk level is reduced in these areas, the travel policy will be adjusted simultaneously.
Under the influence of the epidemic, a large number of migrant workers in local enterprises in Shaoxing may not be able to return to their hometowns for the Chinese New Year. "We are a manufacturing company with more than 800 employees, more than 600 people from Anhui, Jiangxi and other provinces, and it is estimated that most of the workers will be in Shaoxing for the Spring Festival this year." Mr. Hu, an enterprise manager in Keqiao District, Shaoxing, introduced.
Mr. Hu said that at present, enterprises in Keqiao District of Shaoxing are working normally, but roadside catering and entertainment venues are closed, and employees of their own enterprises live in dormitory areas, and there is no restriction on going out, but enterprises have also strengthened epidemic prevention measures for employees.
For non-residents working in Shaoxing, it may be difficult to return home for the Chinese New Year this year. Mr. Hu said that he understands that many surrounding enterprises have advocated employees to celebrate the New Year on the spot, and these employees also celebrated the New Year on the spot in the last Spring Festival, but after the Spring Festival, the epidemic situation stabilized and they took a vacation to go home to visit their relatives in batches. During the Spring Festival, enterprises will send condolence money and subsidies to employees, and will also organize employees to hold parties. Mr. Hu believes that through the government's strict epidemic prevention and control measures, it will soon be cleared to zero, after all, there is still more than a month before the Spring Festival, perhaps there will be a new travel policy near the New Year, Mr. Hu also hopes to take a vacation in the New Year, and go out with his family to visit relatives and friends, otherwise employees will be on the spot for the New Year, and he as a manager can not go.
Expert: Whether you can go home for the New Year should be considered comprehensively
Wang Weishiyun "thinks about her relatives every festive season", and many netizens have not been able to return to their hometowns for the New Year for two consecutive years. Some netizens are also worried that the local policy name is to advocate strict control, and it is close to the Spring Festival or suddenly strictly restrict travel, and it will not go.
"Now the policy is advocacy is not mandatory, the Spring Festival really needs to go out to report to the unit and the community, we have to know where you go and where you come back." 」 On December 15, the zhangjiakou economic development zone management committee epidemic prevention office staff told the occasional cure on the phone, but the epidemic control requirements are refined, and the time to go to the field, the return time, and the destination should be registered, but now it is free to go out of Zhangjiakou.
There is still about a month and a half before the Spring Festival, and many places have begun to issue relevant travel policies.
Guangxi Pingxiang City, the earliest, the local epidemic prevention and control department issued a notice on December 5, advocating that the staff of all stores and shops celebrate the New Year on the spot and visit the New Year online to reduce the flow of personnel. On December 8, the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission reminded all relevant units that during the Spring Festival, try not to organize annual meetings, festivals and other personnel gathering activities, and do not leave Shanghai unless necessary. On December 9, the Zhangjiakou Economic Development Zone in Hebei Province issued a notice advocating that the staff and workers of the party and government organs in the whole region should celebrate the New Year on the spot: The cadres and workers of the party and government organs, public institutions, and state-owned enterprises in the whole region should take the lead in setting an example, all should not leave the local New Year, never leave the country, should not go to medium- and high-risk areas, try not to leave the local area, and strictly examine and approve and manage those who really need it.
On December 13, Yinchuan issued a notice that from now on, "non-essential and non-leave Ning", do not travel to high-risk areas in the epidemic, and advocate local festivals and New Year holidays. On December 14, the Shanxi Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention also issued a reminder advocating that cadres and workers of government organs, public institutions and state-owned enterprises should take the lead in setting an example and try to celebrate the New Year in the local area, and do not necessarily leave the province.
Guangxi Pingxiang epidemic prevention and control department personnel told the occasional cure on the phone that the city advocates the local New Year does not mean that it is forbidden to go out, but it is recommended that people who leave Pingxiang do nucleic acid testing first, and the Spring Festival can return to their hometown for the New Year, ask the destination in advance whether they need to report for registration, and when returning to Pingxiang after the Spring Festival, they must also look at the policies and epidemic situation of their hometown and Pingxiang.
In the face of people's concerns, the experts' statements have played a role in calming people's hearts. According to the Beijing News, China Net and other reports, on December 12-13, at the "2021 Phoenix Finance summit" held in Shanghai, Zeng Guang, a member of the high-level expert group of the National Health Commission and a former chief scientist of epidemiology at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said that the new year is approaching, "I think the vast majority of people should go home and can go home." Zeng Guang also pointed out that returning home during the Spring Festival is a general issue that needs to be considered comprehensively. Whether you can go home smoothly at that time depends on many factors, such as whether it is a green code and the risk level of the city where you live. But if there is no hurry to go home, it is best to celebrate the New Year on the spot.
Wang Guangfa, director of the Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine of Peking University First Hospital, believes in an interview with the media that as far as the epidemic situation in China this year is concerned, local control is still necessary, that is, if an epidemic occurs in a certain area, then the flow of people in the area may need to be controlled and the "local New Year" method is adopted. However, judging from the overall situation in the whole country, it is not necessary for all localities to "celebrate the New Year in place". However, there is still a period of time before the Spring Festival, and the specific situation still needs to be seen at that time.
Even if you can't return to your hometown for the New Year, it will be short-lived, and the epidemic will eventually pass, and Chen Zhuo, an associate professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the University of Georgia, has set his sights on the future. He believes that after the slow increase in global vaccine accessibility, the post-pandemic era will also come in a certain period of time. We need to meet the needs of the public's daily production and life while putting the normalization of the epidemic response on the agenda. Improving the hierarchical diagnosis and treatment system and strengthening the combination of prevention and treatment will help cut off the chain of infection while early detection, early diagnosis and early treatment, and reduce the risk of new large-scale epidemics.
(In order to protect the privacy of the interviewees, Zhao Shuai, Mi Xia, and Li Zheng are pseudonyms)
Author: Li Hualiang
Producer: Li Chen
The first picture and the picture in the text are from: IC photo
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