Number of patients discharged surpasses new infections as more tests planned

Cities in the Yangtze River Delta region have been helping Shanghai resume production during the latest COVID-19 outbreak, according to the government of Shanghai.

Cities in the delta region in the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui have been working on a "white list" of key companies eligible to resume work to ensure production across the entire industry chain, Wu Qing, executive vice-mayor of Shanghai, said at a news briefing on Tuesday.

The three provinces, along with other cities in China, have been providing support to stabilize supply chains in Shanghai, facilitate the cross-regional transport of key products and manufacturing materials, and help enterprises restart their operations, Wu added.

The city of Taizhou in Jiangsu has been helping supply chain companies affiliated with automakers like Shanghai-based SAIC Group and Tesla resume operations and manage related transport permits. Other cities in Jiangsu, including Suzhou, have been aiding Shanghai in addressing logistical problems and boosting the traffic flow for integrated circuit manufacturing enterprises based in Shanghai, such as SMIC Integrated Circuit Manufacturing, according to the vice-mayor.

Wu expressed his gratitude to cities across the country for their help in providing medical treatment and essential supplies, and reviving industrial chains.

He said over 26,000 medical workers from 17 provinces across the nation have taken on tasks related to medical treatment and management in makeshift hospitals in Shanghai.

Cities from the Yangtze River Delta region, such as Zhejiang's Ningbo and Jiangsu's Nantong, have supported the construction of makeshift hospitals and quarantine sites in Shanghai. In addition, transit stations for daily necessities under closed-loop management and contactless transition have been established in Pinghu in Zhejiang and Kunshan in Jiangsu.

Shanghai has been registering a high level of daily cases, which peaked on April 13 with more than 27,000 new infections. The number has been declining since Saturday and dipped to around 20,000 on Monday, according to city authorities.

The city reported 3,084 confirmed cases and 17,332 asymptomatic infections on Monday, said the health commission.

Wu Qianyu, an official from the Shanghai Health Commission, said a record 23,286 people were discharged from medical facilities and quarantine on Monday.

According to Wu Qing, the vice-mayor, mass testing will continue in lockdown zones from Tuesday to Thursday and in controlled zones on Wednesday.

"To enhance testing efficiency and capacity, the city has mobilized facilities such as nucleic acid testing research sites and mobile nucleic acid testing vehicles," he said.

"Medical teams from other cities are helping with the mass testing, and more than 2,000 sample transfer vehicles are being used to speed up the process," he said, adding that the daily maximum nucleic acid testing capacity of Shanghai currently stands at roughly 5 million tubes.