Shanghai adds 38 new COVID-19 infections, two medium-risk areas
Residents wait to receive nucleic acid tests in a local community.
Shanghai reported four locally transmitted COVID-19 cases with mild symptoms and 34 local asymptomatic cases on Monday afternoon.
All the new and asymptomatic cases tested positive after being centrally quarantined or screened as close contacts of previous cases, according to Lu Taohong , deputy director of the Shanghai Health Commission.
The new local cases, aged between eight and 33 years, have been sent to the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center for treatment or quarantined medical observation, Lu told a press briefing on Monday. They are residents of Huangpu, Minhang and Songjiang districts as well as the Pudong New Area, and all are in stable condition.
Meanwhile, 9 Jumenhou Road in Huangpu's Dapuqiao Subdistrict and 760 Loutang Road in Jiading's Industrial Zone have been elevated to medium-risk areas.
Shanghai currently has 10 medium-risk COVID-19 areas.
Other local medium-risk areas are 1578 Hongmei Road S. in Minhang's Meilong Town; 1811 Xuefu Road in Jinshan's Jinshanwei Town; 281 Changdao Road in Pudong's Hudong Community Subdistrict; 233 Henan Road N. in downtown Jing'an; 1200 Caoxi Road N. in downtown Xuhui; the No. 1 building at 3705 Bao'an Highway in Jiading; the Yonghui Supermarket outlet on Huting Road N. in Songjiang; and Putuo District's Shiquan Community Cultural Activity Center on Ningqiang Road.
Since the surge of local cases began on March 1, the city had screened a total of 11,534 people who had close contact with positive cases as of 2pm on Monday. Among them, 10,761 have tested negative and the rest are undergoing examinations.
The city reported a total of 41 local COVID-19 cases and 128 local asymptomatic infections on Sunday.
Dr Ning Guang, president of Ruijin Hospital, said despite an increasing number of asymptomatic infections reported, most of them tested positive after being quarantined, which he said is a "good signal."
"Shanghai is still a safe city. Please don't worry," Ning said at the press briefing.
"Shanghai is still a safe city. Please don't worry,"
Dr Ning Guang, president of Ruijin Hospital
Two new medium-risk areas in Shanghai.
More local hospitals suspended operations on Monday, while air and ground transportation have beefed up prevention measures.
The Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, the city's designated hospital for COVID-19 patients, suspended its outpatient, emergency and fever clinics today at its Jinshan branch at 2901 Caolang Highway.
The center said the temporary closure is meant to improve quarantine and treatment for COVID-19 patients. The nucleic acid testing service and its Hongkou branch at 921 Tongxin Road remains open.
The Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital was quarantined after an inpatient from outside Shanghai tested positive on March 6. During the quarantine period, additional positive cases were detected. They were later transferred to the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center for treatment.
Video clips that went viral show emergency department staff at the hospital's Xuhui branch in a physical altercation over concerns of coronavirus infections.
Wang Xingpeng, director of Shanghai Shenkang Hospital Development Center, confirmed the physical conflicts and said a detailed investigation is ongoing.
The hospital has also shut its branches in Lingang, Pudong, and Shengsi County in the Zhoushan Archipelago of neighboring Zhejiang Province for COVID-19 screenings.
"Medical experts have been dispatched to guide and assist the hospital's COVID-19 prevention and control," Wang said.
Shanghai reports four locally transmitted COVID-19 cases with mild symptoms.
Testing frequency has been increased for staff working at risky posts at the city's airports, railway stations and long-distance bus stations, said Wang Xiaojie, deputy director of the Shanghai Transport Commission.
The Shanghai government is asking residents not to leave the city unless absolutely necessary.
Starting Saturday, those leaving or entering the city must have a negative nucleic acid test report from within the past 48 hours, which will continue until further notice.
Wang Xiaojie said multiple checkpoints have been set up at the city's two airports and railway stations to inspect traveler's test reports.
Departing travelers without a report will not be allowed to board planes or trains. Arriving passengers without a report must pay to receive tests at the airports or railway stations.
People can have their railway tickets fully refunded for free in light of the new round of COVID-19 surges in many parts of the country, the China Railway Shanghai Group said on Monday.
From now on, passengers will not be charged a refund fee for tickets purchased at stations, online and via other channels before midnight on March 15.
Other services purchased, such as meals, along with the ticket can also be refunded.
