Targeted Prevention and Control of Key Links in Airports to Mitigate Public Health Risks

Airports are the gateways of foreign trade goods, inbound and outbound people, etc., as well as an important gathering places of domestic long-distance passenger and cargo transportation. On July 20, 2021, 9 positive cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) were found in routine nucleic acid tests of staff in key positions at Nanjing Lukou Airport. Epidemiological investigation and analysis showed that the cabin environment was contaminated with COVID-19 by infected passengers of Russian inbound flight CA910 from Russia on July 10 and led to an infection of a cleaning staff member. The epidemic at Lukou Airport then caused the spread of families, communities, and spillovers to 38 cities in 14 provincial-level administrative divisions (PLADs) in China and became the epidemic with the most widespread and large number of infected people in China since the epidemic in Wuhan. Subsequently, the nucleic acid test of a foreign cargo aircraft service staff member at the Shanghai Pudong Airport cargo area was positive on August 2, 2021, and a new case in Haikou was found in a porter of Haikou Meilan Airport Cargo Company on August 5. Several of the above outbreaks were airport related. The pandemic has brought serious transmission risks and challenges to airports.