Shanghai sees continuous drop in COVID numbers

Shanghai has seen continued drops in the number of both confirmed and asymptomatic cases of COVID-19 as it is making all efforts to transfer and quarantine as many patients as possible.

The city reported 1,249 locally transmitted confirmed cases and 8,932 asymptomatic infections on Friday, local authorities said during the Saturday daily briefing on this round of COVID outbreak.

Among the confirmed cases, 264 were found in quarantine sites and the rest 985 were original asymptomatic infections. All the local asymptomatic infections were found in closed-loop quarantine sites.

Shanghai reported 47 fatalities on Friday and all had serious underlying diseases, said the city's health commission. The average age of those who have died is 82.4

Cumulative infections from the past six days reached 85,832, while 131,030 people have been discharged from designated and makeshift hospitals, said Zhao Dandan, deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission.

He said receiving as many positive cases as possible to hospitals or quarantine facilities is "the most effective way" to cut infection sources, obstruct community transmission and contain the spread of the virus.

"Next, as the epidemic situation evolves, we will dynamically adjust the settings and operation of the designated and makeshift hospitals based on the principle of classified and graded treatment, so that those who need to be hospitalized can receive timely and effective medical treatment." Zhao said.

From May 1, the price of single-sample nucleic acid testing at public hospitals in Shanghai is reduced to 25 yuan from 28 yuan, the authorities added. Routine tests conducted between May 1 and June 30 in Shanghai will be free, according to previous announcements.