Despite slight drop in cases, Shanghai battles on with its epidemic control

The Shanghai government reiterated on Tuesday that residents in precautionary zones－communities with no COVID-19 infections over the past 14 days－should still avoid unnecessary activities outside their homes to curb possible spread of the virus.

Altogether 4.8 million of the city's 25 million permanent population live in precautionary zones, with only about 500,000 living in downtown areas, according to the city government.

"Considering that the epidemic through the city is still at a high level at the moment, residents even in precautionary zones still need to bear the priority of epidemic control in mind," Wu Qianyu, an official with the Shanghai Health Commission, said at a news briefing.

"We strictly forbid gatherings within the zones and we urge residents there to limit movement within their communities. They must take personal protection measures, including wearing masks and maintaining social distance when they really have to leave their homes," she said.

Shanghai, which mandated a citywide lockdown on April 1, launched a three-zone system－precautionary, controlled and lockdown－for its next phase of epidemic control management on Monday based on results of citywide nucleic acid testing conducted over the weekend.

As of noon Tuesday, there were 11,135 lockdown zones, 2,682 controlled zones and 10,323 precautionary zones citywide.

Lockdown zones refer to neighborhoods that have reported new infections over the past seven days. Residents are required to stay at home for a week.

Controlled zones refer to neighborhoods where no infections have been reported over the past seven days. Residents are allowed to retrieve food deliveries or take a walk at staggered times within their compound.

Residents in precautionary zones can leave their neighborhoods but have to stay within the subdistrict.

The government said residents in precautionary zones will be subject to antigen testing twice a week. Police officers, couriers and city infrastructure staff will undergo both antigen and nucleic acid testing regularly.

In the case of a report of a new infection, a community listed as a precautionary zone will immediately be put on the lockdown list. The listing of the three zones is subject to changes according to the infection situation in the communities.

Shanghai registered 23,342 local COVID-19 infections, including 994 confirmed cases, on Monday, the first day with a slight drop after consecutive days of increases.

The city government said that over 6,000 COVID-19 cases and those with asymptomatic infections were discharged from hospitals and released from medical observation after recovery on Monday.

The figure was a record daily high since the onset of the outbreak early last month.

"The accumulated number of recovered and discharged individuals during this outbreak has surpassed 20,000 as of Monday. They have all been transported to their residences and must monitor their health for seven days," said Wu.