Better if 'high-risk' area is found and dealt with

On Monday, a bit of news hopping from one smartphone to another shocked many: that Chaoyang district of Beijing municipality was now a high-risk area for the novel coronavirus. In fact, it was called the only high-risk area in the entire country.

Considering that Beijing has taken the strictest measures nationwide and is home to over a dozen major media outlets having nationwide influence, the news went viral within minutes. Many expressed worry about the safety of Chaoyang residents.

While it is necessary to keep track of the latest developments vis-a-vis the pandemic, there is no need to panic. According to a news release from the Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control, there are two requirements for a district to be called "high-risk": The total number of diagnosed patients must exceed 50, and the district must have reported a concentrated outbreak in the past 14 days.

The number of patients exceeding 50 is nothing unusual, because patients getting cured continue to be counted. It was a concentrated outbreak in Chaoyang district on April 14, where an imported case led to three more family members getting infected, that gave Chaoyang the "high-risk" tag.

However, just this one "high-risk" case should not upset the trend of the virus largely being brought under control. So long as Beijing continues with its strict measures of checking everybody's temperature at public spaces and asking those coming from overseas to isolate themselves for 14 days, the risks of a concentrated case spreading to more persons remain low.

More importantly, within hours of the concentrated case being confirmed, the anti-epidemic staff descended to investigate. Given such well-trained workers and an organized mechanism, the chances of the virus spreading is low.

In other words, it is definitely not good to have a concentrated case, but that's way better than a "high-risk" area that has not been found yet. So, whether you reside in Chaoyang district or elsewhere, rest assured that the epidemic will ultimately be controlled.