New measures and concepts in the control and prevention of
COVID-19 :What we need to
know
Running Head: A review on
the prevention of COVID-19
Gaohong Wu, MM1*, Ping Jiang, MB1,2,
Huan Yuan, MB1, Xueping Zhu, MD1,
Yuan Shi, MD, PhD1.3
1 Department of Neonatology,
Children’s
Hospital of Soochow University, China
2
Department
of pediatrics, Bayingolin Mongolian
autonomous prefecture people’s hospital, Korla, Sinkiang 841000, China
3 Department of Neonatology,
Children’s Hospital, Chongqing
Medical University, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Child
Development and Disorders, Key Laboratory of Pediatrics in Chongqing,
Chongqing, China Chongqing 400014, China
1These authors contributed equally to this work and
wish to be considered as co-first authors
*Corresponding author:
Gaohong Wu, M. M., Department of Neonatology, Children’s Hospital of
Soochow University
NO.92 Zhongnan Street, Industrial Park, Suzhou 215025, Jiangsu, China
Tel: +86-13041850698
Email: 1217555215@qq.com
Abstract: The emergence and outbreak of coronavirus disease
2019 (COVID-19) poses great challenges to our society, economy, and
public health, and has already become an international public health
emergency. The prevention and control of COVID-19 requires early
detection and the timely and effective control of virus dissemination.
Front-line medical personnel in the outpatient and emergency departments
of hospitals, quarantine centers, and entry and exit ports are key to
the early detection and control of COVID-19. Based on experiences in the
prevention and control of other new and recurrent infectious diseases,
epidemiologists previously proposed the concept of “vital sign zero”
and the “Identify-Isolate-Inform”
(3I) system for the detection and control of infectious diseases. The
use of “vital sign zero” and the “3I system” for COVID-19 will
facilitate the prevention and control of new infections, provide more
timely treatment and effective isolation of patients, and protect the
safety and health of medical workers. These concepts will also prevent
the spread of COVID-19 and help to ensure public health and safety.
Key words: Severe acute
respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Coronavirus disease 2019; Control
and prevention; vital sign zero;
identify-isolate-inform system
The outbreak of severe acute
respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which originated in
Wuhan, China, has become a major global health issue. This novel
coronavirus can cause severe respiratory tract infections and lead to
bronchiolitis or pneumonia, a disease named coronavirus disease 2019
(COVID-19) by the World Health
Organization (WHO) on Feb 12, 2020. Because of the high prevalence of
SARS-Cov-2 infections, the WHO declared this
an international public health
emergency on Jan 30, 2020 (Huang et al., 2020). This virus is highly
contagious and its basic reproduction number (R0) is
3.58 (Chen et al., 2020). By Mar 16, 2020, this virus infected more than
81,000 people world-wide and caused 3200 deaths, corresponding to a
mortality rate of approximately 4.0%. So far, there are no specific
treatments for COVID-19, but many
public health measures have been implemented to improve control and
prevention. Because health care workers are facing the potential need to
assess many patients with COVID-19 new measures and concepts —“vital
sign zero” and the “Identify-Isolate-Inform” (3I) system — will
help to assure the timely treatment and isolation of patients, guarantee
the safety and health of medical staff, more closely monitor and prevent
the spread of this infectious disease, and ensure public health and
safety.