Status of contamination with Delta novel coronavirus in isolation wards

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the status of contamination with novel coronavirus pneumonia in isolation wards, so as to provide scientific basis for developing reasonable strategies of environmental disinfection in isolation wards. METHODS The samples were systematically collected from isolation wards of COVID-19. The samples were collected from the surface of the environment, hands of patients and gloves of medical staff by cotton swab wiping method. SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid test was performed and analyzed by real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction assay. RESULTS A total of 517 samples were collected. Twenty samples collected from isolation wards were tested positive among 490 environmental samples, with the positive rate of 4.08%. Two positive samples were from hands of 27 patients and medical shaff, with the positive rate of 7.41%. There was significant difference in the positive rate of environmental samples between samples in the ward and outside the ward（χ²=5.198,P=0.023）. CONCLUSION Rational planning of the layout and process of the isolation ward, strict implementation of daily environmental disinfection and hand hygiene system can effectively reduce the degree of contamination of the isolation ward environment by SARS-COV-2, which can cut off the route of virus transmission, reducing the risk of nosocomial infection of medical staff.