Mayor says COVID-19 outbreak under control

The recent outbreak of COVID-19 cases in the city has been brought under control due to effective pandemic control measures, Mayor Gong Zheng said on Wednesday.

All 16 cases reported in Shanghai by Tuesday were discovered through screening, and the contingency plan for pandemic control had been activated immediately, Gong said.

Instead of mass testing, he said, the focus was on close contacts of the patients and the action taken was “no more than required and no less than necessary.” More than 41,000 people had been subject to screening so far, he said.

Gong said the new outbreak had driven home the importance of cutting no slack in preventing the import of the pandemic from overseas and its resurgence at home, but the government had full confidence in further pandemic control.

“We will strive to uncover infections as early as possible to cut the source of viruses and prevent massive community transmission, while ensuring normal life in the city and reducing the influence on residents as much as possible,” he said.

Gong said the city will step up screening of potential patients by increasing the frequency of tests to key groups and further tightening closed-loop management.

He called for residents to continue to observe pandemic control instructions by wearing face masks where required, keeping social distances and taking care of personal hygiene.