A dynamic residential community-based quarantine strategy: China’s experience in fighting against COVID-19

At the beginning of China’s quarantine, residents were required to stay home. When necessary, they were required to use an electronic pass system with traceable personal information to gain entry to residential areas, work places, and public transportation; their body temperature was screened by thermal scanning at the entrances.3 Once new cases were identified, health professionals and volunteers followed up, treated and isolated the patient and those in close contact. With the prior experience of SARS, the majority of Chinese citizens understood the importance of the quarantine and were invested in its success. As the epidemic came under better control, community-level management was strengthened and upgraded, but also became more dynamic so that it allowed movement and return to work to minimize the effects on people’s lives and businesses, while still monitoring people’s movements and health status.