City gets shelters well prepared for temperatures drop

Shelters across Shanghai have activated an emergency response with a yellow alert for cold (the third highest in a four-tier system) to ensure the safety of homeless, civil affairs authorities said on Sunday.

Street patrols have been stepped up, and items such as quilts and heavy clothing have been prepared at shelters, the Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau said.

Homeless people and beggars are provided with free meals and accommodation at shelters, which operate 24 hours a day.

For those do not want to go to shelters, free quilts, masks, food and hot water are distributed by officials to help them get through the cold snap, with cards containing contact details of shelters attached.

Strict closed management has been imposed at shelters with temperature checks, disinfection, quarantine and no communal meals.

Shelters across the city have received 1,121 people and helped 349 on the streets since the end of last year, according to the bureau.

The temperature plummeted to zero degrees Celsius on Sunday.