(Yicai Global) Dec. 21 -- Shanghai has put 2,594 fever clinics at community healthcare centers into use since Dec. 19 to help people who think they have caught the novel coronavirus to receive treatment promptly and also to relieve overstretched medical resources as Covid-19 cases surge amid an easing of pandemic prevention measures.

“The Datuan Community Healthcare Center in the Pudong New Area has three fever clinics and three respiratory clinics and these can be expanded to five each, if necessary,” Medical Director Qu Yanhua told Yicai Global.

The community center is well prepared to treat, refer and dispense drugs to people infected with Covid-19, Qu said. The fever clinics can provide diagnosis, treatment, prescriptions as well as intravenous drip therapies to those who have mild cases of the novel coronavirus and can evaluate those who are at medium to high risk of developing a severe infection, Qu added.

The center, which usually provides basic medical services to the 63,000 residents in Datuan town, nearly a quarter of whom are over 60 years old, is well-equipped with high-flow oxygen devices, sputum patters, sputum aspirators, ventilators, and electrocardiographic monitors.

“We also recently acquired 10 mobile fingertip oximeters, which can better monitor the health status of infected people,” Qu added.

Should the patient need referring to a hospital for treatment, the Datuan Community Healthcare Center has a long-standing agreement with Shanghai Pudong Hospital which it relied on heavily during the outbreaks in the first half, Qu said.

All 16 villages that fall under the community center’s aegis have set up special holding areas for people who test positive for Covid-19, Qu said. They provide treatment for fever and other respiratory symptoms and also reduce the chance of cross-infections.

Zhaoqiao village, for instance, which has 2,598 residents, has a family doctor, a village doctor and a village nurse. The doctors’ mobile phones are on 24 hours a day, so that people in the village can receive round-the-clock advice and assistance.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Kim Taylor