Official: Shanghai has enough rooms to house COVID-19 close contacts

A Shanghai top official said on Friday that the city has managed to create enough rooms to quarantine the close contacts of COVID-19 patients.

"Different districts have tried every means to solicit, move and combine resources to prepare rooms for the quarantine," said vice Mayor Peng Chenlei during a news conference.

"Right now, the acquired rooms can meet the daily quarantine demand of the primary contacts of the infected. Related central government departments have also coordinated with Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces to make this possible," Peng said.

According to Xinhua News Agency, Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces have provided 60,000 quarantine rooms in the past week, which saw the municipal health commission reporting an average of 1,000 contacts of confirmed COVID-19 cases and 1,800 contacts of the asymptomatic cases every day.

According to national protocols, the contacts are required to be under medical observance at centralized quarantine sites, said Peng.

Those who test positive during the quarantine will be transported to designated hospitals or makeshift hospitals while those who test negative can return home for self health monitoring, he added.