The likelihood of COVID-19 outbreaks due to flooding is low.

     The process of heavy rainfall in China this summer is characterized by a long duration and extreme precipitation in some areas. Therefore, the flood disaster in most areas is mainly caused by mountain floods, and some cities have experienced urban waterlogging caused by the short-term surge of precipitation.

After the flood subsided, various localities actively carried out drainage, dredging and environmental clean-up work. It has been learned that the flood disaster in this summer has resulted in a significant decrease in the number of people who have been relocated for emergency purposes compared with previous years. Most of the severely affected provinces have a short period of time for residents to be relocated in a centralized way after the disaster. There are no large centralized resettlement sites at present, and the public health risk caused by centralized resettlement is relatively low. In most areas, the focus of post-disaster health and epidemic prevention has shifted to the gradual restoration of the original basic public health services in communities and towns.

At present, the disaster area is in the summer heat period, combined with the characteristics of flood and waterlogged disaster, the disaster area may face the potential epidemic threat of intestinal infectious diseases, insect-borne infectious diseases and respiratory infectious diseases. Summer is not the epidemic season of respiratory infectious diseases in southern China, and the schools are entering the summer vacation one after another. As a result, the concentration of resettlement population after the disaster is small, and the gathering opportunity of people in the disaster area is reduced, the possibility of the outbreak of respiratory infectious diseases in the disaster area is low.

With regard to whether flooding will strengthen the transmission of COVID-19, the report said that except for some districts in Beijing, which are at medium and high risk of COVID-19, the rest of China is at low risk, and the transmission of novel coronavirus has been basically stopped, and the prevention and control of the epidemic has entered a normal mode. The likelihood of COVID-19 outbreaks due to flooding is low, and the impact of COVID-19 on disaster emergency preparedness and response at this stage is limited.

We should continue to adhere to effective health habits and scientific methods of protection. Wearing a mask is a key measure of personal protection. Wear it when going out, especially in stations, docks, shopping malls and other crowded places with large mobility, as well as on all kinds of public transportation. Wear it strictly and correctly, and maintain a certain social distance (at least 1 meter), which can effectively block the transmission route.