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

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.