China: Shanghai Launches Mass Testing Against Omicron

Several districts in Shanghai are preparing for a three-day mass nucleic acid testing against the Omicron starting on Tuesday.

This is as the city plans against a new wave of COVID-19 which has seen 319 positive cases with the city designating one high-risk and 37 medium-risk areas.

Shanghai health authorities announced on Monday that the city reported six confirmed cases and 63 asymptomatic cases on Sunday.

It said, so far, a total of 319 positive cases, including 85 confirmed cases and 234 asymptomatic cases have been reported in the city in July.

Shanghai's civil affairs authority also said on Monday that the city has always attached importance to the work of preventing COVID-19 cases and will strictly implement closed-loop transportation and quarantine measures for inbound personnel at Shanghai ports.

The Sports Bureau of Xuhui District also announced that to effectively curb the spread of the epidemic, indoor sports venues, including swimming pools in the district will be suspended from opening to the public.

The BA.5 subvariant has become a challenge to Shanghai's anti-epidemic system and requires a quicker response to locate the infection source, carry out epidemiologic investigations, and implement control measures in precise places.