#CHDfightsCOVID-19: CHD Organizes Emergency Rehearsals at its Overseas Sites

BEIJING, April 28 -- Along with the continuous spread of COVID-19, the world is being forced into a downward growth with increasing unsteadiness and uncertainty. The CHEC Emergency Handling Headquarters for Overseas Public Safety & Security Emergencies (CHEC Overseas Emergency HQ hereinafter) has recently organized COVID-19 emergency handling rehearsals at the Duyen Hai 2 project site in Vietnam and GEB in Bali, Indonesia, further consolidating awareness of all employees in terms of comprehensive outbreak prevention, virus control, individual protection, social-distancing and public sanitation.

The rehearsals were carried out as simulations of contingencies designed to resemble possible fallout at different project sites according to situations on the ground, and stress tests on the contingency plans made to tackle any such events.

In Vietnam, the rehearsal had included the scenarios in which a Chinese construction specialist was found to have symptoms matching those of COVID-19 fever and coughing, and body temperature reaching 39 degrees Celsius; staff being flagged by local CDC as suspected cases, and later discharged from confinement along with other persons of close contact upon approval from concerning authority after a 14-day observation period during which no further developments on the symptoms were observed.

Rehearsals were carried out in Indonesia with a similar set of scenarios only in which staff was eventually tested positive for COVID-19 instead of being discharged with symptoms subsided.

Following commands from the CHEC Overseas Emergency HQ, leaderships and staff members at these sites had managed to carry out exercises on important tasks. One of them is coordinating between local consulates, medical institutions and managing bodies of overseas operation at CHD, through which the situations could be communicated to professional and regulating bodies for necessary assistance and instructions. In Vietnam, the rehearsal started with the Chinese consulate in Ho Chi Minh City and the CHEC Overseas Emergency HQ being notified of the situation.

Internally, the sites had meticulously followed standards set out by the preexisting contingency plans and local CDCs on quarantine, construction sites, disinfection, logistical support, mental support for employees and stockpiling of outbreak prevention supplies.

The rehearsals had provided an opportunity for the preexisting contingency plans to be exercised, so that problems and further needs can be identified for the sites to be better prepared. They had also provided reference and experience to the leadership, staff and concerned external parties on how the preventive mechanism would be initiated and piloted should there be an actual COVID-19 fallout.

（by Chen Jing, Li Zongwei, CHEC）