China’s experience in COVID-19 prevention and control among children in its different regions

Q. Luo, L. Yuan, J. Zhang, W. Wei, W. Xiang, J.-B. Shao, L.-C. Fan, L. Li, X.-W. Zhai, X.-B. Zhang, A.-F. Zhou, G.-Y. Huang, S. Gu

Department of Research Service, Hainan Women and Children’s Medical Center, Haikou, China. april1972@163.com

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• Infectious Diseases

OBJECTIVE: To summarize the experience of three Chinese cities (Wuhan, Shanghai and Haikou) and provide a reference for global efforts to combat COVID-19 spread among children.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Through collecting the measures and outcomes of preventing and controlling COVID-19 in China’s three hospitals, we compared the effect of different strategies.

RESULTS: From January to March 2020, the number of suspected and confirmed COVID-19 cases in Wuhan increased exponentially, and Wuhan Children’s Hospital as a whole was transformed into a designated quarantine and treatment facility, which is the “Wuhan Model”. Shanghai has more children’s hospitals with better capabilities to tackle public health emergency. Besides, it is far away from Wuhan and had a small caseload. Children’s Hospital of Fudan University, a facility in Shanghai to treat pediatric infectious diseases, is famous for its well-equipped building for infectious disease treatment and professional medical team, and therefore no major transformation was required. That is the “Shanghai Model”. Haikou is located on an island. Amid the outbreak, large numbers of tourists and travelers from Hubei had already arrived in Haikou. Hainan Women and Children’s Medical Center, as the only pediatric care hospital in Hainan Province, did not have a separate building for infectious disease treatment. After a citywide survey of the medical resources and facilities available, a temporarily idle hospital 3 kilometers away from Hainan Women and Children’s Medical Center was requisitioned as the quarantine and treatment facility for pediatric cases. That is the “Hainan Model”. The three models enabled the treatment of all suspected and confirmed cases and no fatality was reported.

CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 coping strategies for children should be designed according to the existing conditions of the local children’s hospitals and the risk levels of the epidemic.

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