It is now OK to visit the elderly in senior-care homes

Senior homes in Shanghai have lifted their ban on visits by family as the COVID-19 resurgence wanes, the city's civil affairs authorities said on Friday.

Visits to senior homes have been suspended for more than three months.

Visitors must have a green health code and their travel history code should indicate that they have not visited or stayed in medium or high-risk regions within the previous seven days, according to Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau.

They should also have a negative nucleic acid test result from within the past 24 hours and a reservation is mandatory.

They need to make real-name registration as well.

The number of visitors, visit frequency, and routes and visiting areas will be set strictly by government agencies based on their capacity, the bureau said.

Visitors need to wear N95 or KN95 masks and have their temperature checked before entry.

Visitors are not allowed into the living area of elderly residents.

Staff should take precautions and avoid crowded areas and gatherings.

Shanghai is among the fastest aging cities in China. Residents over 60 comprised more than 36 percent of the permanent population as of the end of last year, hitting 5.34 million.

It's estimated that about 300,000 people in the city suffer from dementia, a figure projected to increase.