Shanghai reports 7 local COVID-19 cases, Omicron detected
A pedestrian walks past the Shiquan Community Cultural Activity Center on 33 Ningqiang Road in Shanghai's Putuo District.
Shanghai reported three locally transmitted COVID-19 cases with mild symptoms and four local asymptomatic cases on Wednesday.
All the seven people are related to the local COVID-19 case reported in the city on Tuesday, who has been diagnosed with the highly infectious Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
The new cases, all female retirees belonging to the same elderly dancing team, tested positive during screening and quarantine as close contacts of the previous local case, Wu Jinglei, head of the Shanghai Health Commission, said at a press briefing on Wednesday.
They trained and practiced with the previous case at Putuo District's Shiquan Community Cultural Activity Center on 33 Ningqiang Road, which has been elevated to a medium-level risk area.
One of the asymptomatic cases lives in suburban Baoshan District, while the other new cases are Putuo residents. Their ages range between 58 to 66 years. Six of them have received at least two shots of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The places they went to, including the Gongfu Wet Market and Laoshengchang Soup Dumpling Restaurant on Gongfu Road in Baoshan's Gucun Town, have been disinfected and placed under quarantine.
A total of 165 people who had close links with the new cases have been put under quarantine and medical observation. All of them have tested negative.
In addition, 87,403 people have been screened and 1,900 environmental samples collected. All have tested negative.
Eight sports venues in Putuo announced they are suspending operations from Wednesday. They are: Putuo Sports Center, Putuo Gymnasium, Caoyang Swimming Pool, Zhenru Stadium, Zhonghuan Basketball Park and three outlets of Rucker Park in the district.
Since Tuesday, Tongji Hospital, Renhe Hospital, the Huangpu branch of Shanghai No. 9 People's Hospital, Jiuting Hospital and Huashan Hospital have suspended both outpatient and emergency service, while Ruijin Hospital stopped outpatient service for closed-loop management.
"Vaccination remains the most effective means to prevent COVID-19," Wu noted.
Talking about the Omicron variant, he said that China's COVID-19 vaccines can effectively reduce the symptoms, severe illness and death rate. The death rate of elderly cases without vaccination is 18 times higher to those who are vaccinated.
Even if infected with COVID-19, the risk of pneumonia can be reduced by 60 percent within half a year after receiving two shots of vaccine, he added.
About 11.04 million people in Shanghai had received the booster shots of the COVID-19 vaccine as of Tuesday. A total of 22.49 million people in the city have taken two jabs, Wu revealed.
