key: cord-0702008-7gj6lrb9
authors: Hu, Chun-Song
title: Analysis of COVID-19 Cases and Public Measures in China
date: 2020-08-15
journal: SN Compr Clin Med
DOI: 10.1007/s42399-020-00426-6
sha: 7d1ea27b6a1ca8dd98d43e828d8996f99b202ecb
doc_id: 702008
cord_uid: 7gj6lrb9

This paper briefly analyzes COVID-19 cases during Wuhan lockdown and travel restrictions on 23 January 2020 to 23 June 2020, which included total confirmed, in critical condition, deaths, recovered, and suspected cases in China. Results showed that there were 28,942 suspected cases on February 8, 2020, at the peak; then, it almost declined continually to only several cases. Total confirmed cases were more than 80,000 on March 1, 2020, but less than 84,000, and deaths were more than 3000 on March 4, 2020, but less than 4640, totally, thanks for the right public measures for COVID-19 in China, such as the Wuhan City lockdown and travel restrictions for isolation; positive screening and testing; and establishing a Huoshenshan hospital, a Leishenshan hospital, and a number of Fangcang shelter hospitals, traditional Chinese medicine and a combination of Chinese and western medicine, and the launch of the clinical trials of antiviral drugs (Lianhua Qingwen, remdesivir, and chloroquine). In addition, the iRT-ABCDEF program is very useful to control domestic, imported, and asymptomatic cases. Cases in critical condition decrease continually after the peak of 11,977 cases on February 18, 2020, and recovered cases increase continually to over 78,400 cases due to these right public measures and effective treatments. In recent months, there are only 2 deaths and only about ten cases in critical condition. All in all, these public measures in China are confirmed to be very effective and are worth conducting in countries worldwide.

The outbreak of a severe respiratory disease [1, 2] at the end of 2019 has already been controlled successfully in China. This emerging infectious disease was ever named a novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) pneumonia (NCP), and it is a major threat to public health according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Then, this coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 disease was named as COVID-19 by the WHO. Genome sequences from samples of patients confirmed that a novel RNA virus originated from its natural reservoir host-bats [3, 4] . But an animal just represents an intermediate host [5] . And pangolins should also be considered as possible hosts since metagenomic sequencing identified pangolin-associated coronaviruses [6] . The angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is a possible entry receptor for SARS-CoV-2 binding cell in humans. Here is a preliminary analysis of COVID-19 cases during Wuhan lockdown and travel restrictions on 23 January 2020 to 23 June 2020, which included total confirmed, in critical condition, deaths, recovered, and suspected cases in China.

Data (Table 1 and Table 2 ) showed that there was 28,942 suspected cases on February 8, 2020, at the peak; then, it almost declined continually to only several cases. Total confirmed cases were more than 80,000 on March 1, 2020, but less than 84,000, and deaths were more than 3000 on March 4, 2020, but less than 4640, totally, thanks for the right public measures for COVID-19 in China, such as the Wuhan City lockdown and travel restrictions for isolation; positive screening and testing; and establishing a Huoshenshan hospital, a Leishenshan hospital, and a number of Fangcang shelter hospitals, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and a combination of Chinese and western medicine, and the launch of the clinical trials of antiviral drugs (Lianhua Qingwen, remdesivir, and chloroquine, etc.). Cases in critical condition decreased continually after the peak of 11,977 cases on February 18, 2020, and recovered cases increased continually to over 78,400 due to these right public measures and effective treatments ( Fig. 1) . In recent months, there are only 2 deaths and only about ten cases in critical condition.

So far, there were over 10 million confirmed cases in the globe after the pandemic of COVID-19 was declared by the WHO [7] . However, there were less 90,000 cases in China mainland. If compared with cases in major countries outside China, COVID-19 cases confirmed in China were earlier but less (definitely, P < 0.001). This is highly linked to positive and effective public measures in China. With increasing understanding on the epidemiological, clinical, laboratory, and radiological characteristics; treatment; and clinical outcomes of COVID-19 patients [8, 9] , there will be no possible second pandemic in China except for only some domestic, imported, and asymptomatic cases. Here is a brief summary on these powerful measures for prevention and control of COVID-19, and it will be helpful to fight against COVID-19 worldwide.

Since increasing evidence shows that human-to-human transmission has occurred among close contacts [10, 11] , it is easy to understand that lockdown is very helpful to curb the spread of the epidemic. And, its effect of delaying and halting the outward spread of the SARS-CoV-2 was very positive [12] , but it needs to combine with the control of transmission in the community [13] . Extending the statutory holiday and adopting a flexible working system to encourage residents to stay at home, cut off the transmission, and protect vulnerable individuals will effectively isolate the source of infection [14] . COVID-19 more likely affects older males with comorbidities and can result in severe and even fatal respiratory diseases [15] , but there is currently no evidence of maternal-fetal SARS-CoV-2 transmission since no positive results were reported in testing on neonatal throat swabs and breast-milk samples [16] [17] [18] .

Due to rapid transmissions, large-scale public health interventions need to be implement immediately in cities and rural regions with the pandemic [19] . All visitors were required to wear masks and to be detected by the temperature tests in the very beginning to prevent the spread of COVID-19 due to fever in 83% patients and cough in 82% patients [15] . And, local high-hazard regions had undergone door-to-door screenings for fighting against COVID-19. All confirmed cases and close contacts had been promptly quarantined and closed down for early detection of suspected cases. In many cities and communities, electronic proofs of access and health were required for all visitors to prevent imported COVID-19. A series of bans were issued for prohibiting gathering. Universities and middle schools carried out online courses. Since there were possible asymptomatic cases of potentially COVID-19 infection [20] [21] [22] , it is very important for isolation of 2 weeks for those closely contacted with confirmed cases.

The epidemic information was released in time by radio and television, internet, mobile phone, and WeChat. The diagnostic methods and treating programs were unclassified, and experts were invited to popularize scientific propaganda so as to stabilize the mood of residents and avoid possible panic by effective psychological channels. Open letters were widely posted to the community to publicize the harm of COVID-19 as effective preventive measures. Especially, a healthy lifestyle which includes five core elements, "environment-sleepemotion-exercise-diet" intervention [E(e)SEEDi], also named the magic "polypill" [23] , is highly encouraged because of its improvement of one's immunity (Table 3) .

In order to treat all COVID-19 patients in time, a Huoshenshan hospital, a Leishenshan hospital, and a number of Fangcang shelter hospitals [24] were established in Wuhan which were rare miracles, and significant medical supplies were offered for urgent needs, for example, N95 masks, protective clothings, and ECMO, and many medical teams and famous experts were sent to Wuhan. And, remdesivir [25, 26] , a possible effective [27] ; the establishment of rapid diagnostic methods; integration of traditional Chinese and western medicine; screening specific antiviral drugs in the labs; the launch of the clinical trials on Lianhua Qingwen, remdesivir, and chloroquine due to effective inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 in vitro and in vivo [28, 29] , and other drugs; and rapid developing of COVID-19 vaccines, as well as the developed iRT-ABCDEF program [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] for domestic, imported, and asymptomatic cases, rolling victory had been achieved in China. In addition, convalescent plasma therapy was well tolerated and could potentially improve the clinical outcomes in severe COVID-19 cases [35] .

Powerful public measures for combating COVID-19 were in time, rational, right, and scientific. These measures were confirmed to be very effective and are worth conducting worldwide including Brazil and Italy [36] and were highly praised by the WHO and many countries. It is time for global cooperation and information sharing [37, 38] . People should pay more attention to the role of laws on public health since Health in All Laws is a better strategy for global health. With the 

A novel coronavirus from patients with pneumonia in China

Identification of a novel coronavirus causing severe pneumonia in human: a descriptive study

A pneumonia outbreak associated with a new coronavirus of probable bat origin

A new coronavirus associated with human respiratory disease in China

Genomic characterisation and epidemiology of 2019 novel coronavirus: implications for virus origins and receptor binding

Identifying SARS-CoV-2 related coronaviruses in Malayan pangolins

Coronavirus disease (COVID-2019) situation reports

Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus in Wuhan

Clinical characteristics of 138 hospitalized patients with 2019 novel coronavirus-infected pneumonia in Wuhan

Early transmission dynamics in Wuhan, China, of novel coronavirusinfected pneumonia

A familial cluster of pneumonia associated with the 2019 novel coronavirus indicating person-to-person transmission: a study of a family cluster

An investigation of transmission control measures during the first 50 days of the COVID-19 epidemic in China

The effect of travel restrictions on the

Importation and human-to-human transmission of a novel coronavirus in Vietnam

Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of 99 cases of 2019 novel coronavirus pneumonia in Wuhan, China: a descriptive study

Clinical characteristics and intrauterine vertical transmission potential of COVID-19 infection in nine pregnant women: a retrospective review of medical records

Lack of maternal-fetal SARS-CoV-2 transmission

Clinical characteristics of pregnant women with Covid-19 in Wuhan, China

Nowcasting and forecasting the potential domestic and international spread of the 2019-nCoV outbreak originating in Wuhan, China: a modelling study

A locally transmitted case of SARS-CoV-2 infection in Taiwan

Transmission of 2019-nCoV infection from an asymptomatic contact in Germany

Evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in returning travelers from Wuhan, China

Grants supporting research in China

Fangcang shelter hospitals: a novel concept for responding to public health emergencies

First case of 2019 novel coronavirus in the United States

Compassionate use of remdesivir for patients with severe Covid-19

Clinical characteristics of coronavirus disease 2019 in China

Lianhua Qingwen exerts anti-viral and anti-inflammatory activity against novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2)

Remdesivir and chloroquine effectively inhibit the recently emerged novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in vitro

SARS and its treatment strategies

Treatment of chronic heart failure in the 21st century: a new era of biomedical engineering has come

Intervention of RT-ABCDEF for cancer

Managing acute myocardial infarction in China

A comprehensive strategy for managing arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy

Effectiveness of convalescent plasma therapy in severe COVID-19 patients

Description of Covid-19 cases in Brazil and Italy

Coronavirus: three things all governments and their science advisers must do now

Data sharing for novel coronavirus (COVID-19)

Cryo-EM structure of the 2019-nCoV spike in the prefusion conformation

Structure, function and antigenicity of the SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein

Structural basis for the recognition of the SARS-CoV-2 by full-length human ACE2

A possible scenario for the Covid-19 epidemic, based on the SI(R) model

Publisher's Note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations

Acknowledgments The reviewers and editors are gratefully acknowl-