Medical workers prepare to carry out nucleic acid tests at a university in Qingpu district of East China's Shanghai, March 14, 2022. Medical workers from the Xianghuaqiao community medical service center in Qingpu district of Shanghai joined the battle against the recent COVID-19 resurgence. They have collected more than 56,000 samples for nucleic acid testing since the latest resurgence in March. (Photo: Xinhua)

Shanghai has temporarily increased centralized treatment centers to provide treatment for infected patients, as the city is facing a severe and complex COVID-19 epidemic situation, a Shanghai government official said at Monday's press briefing. The city reported a record number of 24 new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases, and 734 local asymptomatic infections on Sunday.

Among the 24 local cases, 22 were found in closed-loop management. Among the 734 asymptomatic carriers, 82 were found when screening for risky groups, said the authorities.

The city has reported a large number of positive cases in recent days, which reflects the effect of early screening work, Wu Jinglei, director of Shanghai's Health Commission explained at the press briefing, noting that those are the basis to realize "dynamic zero-COVID" among communities.

On March 16 and 17, Shanghai conducted nucleic acid screening in key areas. The city also conducted classified screening and management over different regions based on COVID-19 risk evaluation, and screened over 30 million samples for nucleic acid testing in three days from March 18 to Sunday. 

Starting from Monday, workplaces in some regions including Pudong New Area and Jing'an district require employees to provide negative COVID-19 test results taken any day from March 16 to 20, according to the authorities.

For future epidemic preventive work, Wu noted that it will depend on screening results and the situation.

Some well-known tourist attractions in Shanghai also strengthened preventive management due to the epidemic resurgence. 

Due to the current pandemic situation, Shanghai Disney Resort, including Shanghai Disneyland, Disneytown and Wishing Star Park was temporarily closed starting from Monday, the resort said on Sunday's statement. The resort will notify guests as soon as they have a confirmed date to resume operations. The Shanghai Oriental Pearl Tower also suspended operations starting from Monday.

China will explore smarter COVID-19 prevention and control measures, Zhang Wenhong, Shanghai-based renowned infectious disease expert noted at a forum on Saturday, stressing that vaccination rates, medicine stockpiles and medical resources will be the focus of China's future epidemic management.