Officials in one international airport in Shanghai announced general COVID-19 testing for all employees at the airport. That is because two new cases of the virus have been recorded among the cargo handlers. This announcement drove the international airport into a state of disorder.
Video footage showed people in PEP materials as they attempted to control the crowd in the airport on Sunday night. According to the Guardian, the parking garage was used for a makeshift COVID-19 testing center. However, a video released by the Global Times, a news station controlled by the state, showed the testing was done in order.
Over 17,700 employees were tested but only 11,544 results were available which all showed negative, according to Zhou Junlong, Vice President of the Shanghai Airport Authority.
What brought about this compulsory test was because two cargo handlers who washed an empty container that had just arrived from North America all tested positive for the coronavirus, according to an official. The breed of the virus, when tested, was like that found in North America.
The container was impermeable and wet, and while cleaning it, the cargo handlers did not use any protective gear or mask. According to Sun, studies carried out at home and overseas have shown the virus could survive in wet and covered areas. One of the cargo handlers left for his hometown, which is in a different area. It is believed that he has infected three other colleagues and his wife.
Officials are now planning to build a permanent nucleic acid testing center in the airport for cargo handlers who are more unprotected in such situations, Fox News reports.
“Meanwhile, we will set up disinfection of imported goods and the cargo handling equipment and work areas” Zhou added.
According to the Morning Post, the unprotected employees are supposed to receive a vaccine that would protect them against the virus. This will only happen if the government gives such permission. However, the Chinese government hasn’t given permission for coronavirus vaccines to be administered to the public.
Eleven recent cases of the virus have been recorded in Shanghai on Monday by China. Health officials have not yet found a connection between these new cases and the cases at the airport. China has seen a total number of 86,000 cases, which include 4,634 deaths approximately since the pandemic started.
Source: nypost.com
