Shanghai's COVID-19 tally continues to fall

The daily tally of new COVID-19 infections in Shanghai has continued to fall as the commission reported 1,292 confirmed cases and 9,330 asymptomatic infections on Wednesday.

A total of 12,707 children aged under six - around 2.4 percent of  total infections - have contracted COVID-19 in the current outbreak which started in March, the municipal government said on Thursday.

Zhao Dandan, deputy director of the municipal health commission, said most of the infected children received treatment in designated hospitals, while some of those who were asymptomatic were monitored in makeshift hospitals with their guardians.

To ensure the safe resumption of work and production, the municipal government has started establishing nucleic acid testing sites across the city. In Qingpu district, around 200 testing sites will be put into use in early May, said the deputy district governor Zhang Yan.

The sites will be located in places that allow residents to receive a test within a 15-minute walk from their homes, Zhang said. Qingpu district is also recruiting 1,000 people with medical backgrounds to become testing specialists.