Tougher virus prevention and control measures for holiday

Shanghai's residential communities have tightened COVID-19 prevention and control measures for the upcoming Spring Festival holiday.

People traveling outside the city for the Chinese Lunar New Year will be required to provide negative nucleic acid test results when they return, according to civil affairs officials. 

Visitors to residential complexes will be required to have their health QR codes and temperatures checked before entering, said Zeng Qun, deputy director of the Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau. 

Shanghai has more than 13,000 residential complexes.

"Officials will step up screening in residential communities to find out whether residents have left the city and whether they have out-of-town relatives visiting for the holiday," Zeng said. 

For older residential communities that have confirmed coronavirus cases but are lack of facilities, residents will be quarantined at designated places for medical observation — a measure that has been imposed in Huangpu District's Zhaotong residential area. 

The area was listed as medium risk after two residents tested positive for the virus.

People coming to Shanghai from medium- and high-risk areas will be screened by districts, subdistricts, neighborhoods or village committees when they arrive.

Those from high-risk regions will undergo a 14-day central quarantine and must take two nucleic acid tests, while those from medium-risk regions will undergo a 14-day quarantine at home and also take two nucleic acid tests.