Coronavirus: Shanghai retires half of its fangcang quarantine hospitals as daily Covid-19 cases resume falling towards ‘societal zero-Covid’ goal

Daily new cases declined for the 20th day since April 23, falling by 19.8 per cent in the previous 24 hours to 1,681, holding below 3,000 for the fourth day

Symptomatic cases dipped by 14.5 per cent to 227, held below 300 a day for the fifth straight day

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A medical worker in a protective suit collects a swab sample from a chef for nucleic acid testing, during lockdown, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Shanghai on May 13, 2022. Photo: Reuters

Published: 12:44pm, 14 May 2022Updated: 1:10pm, 31 May 2022

Shanghai’s government retired five of the city’s large makeshift fangcang quarantine hospitals after daily Covid-19 cases resumed their declining trend, a week before a deadline to wipe out community infections.

Daily new cases declined for the 20th day since April 23, falling by 19.8 per cent in the previous 24 hours to 1,681, according to data released on Saturday. Symptomatic cases decreased by 14.5 per cent to 227, while an elderly patient with existing medical ailments died.

“With the stable decline of new positive cases, patients at municipal and district level fangcang hospitals have decreased to below 50,000, or 20 per cent from their peak,” said Ding Bo, who heads patient relocations at the city’s Covid-prevention task force, during a press briefing.

Several municipal-level fangcang hospitals – converted from public venues such as a Formula One racing circuit in Anting, and a 16,000-bed facility in the Lingang free trade area – had been retired, leaving half of all the quarantine facilities still running, Ding said. About 95 per cent of the 288 schools that were set aside as potential fangcang hospitals are no longer in use, he added.

Workers putting together the finishing touches of a temporary Covid-19 quarantine hospital, called a fangcang, at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai) on April 8, 2022. Photo: Xinhua via AP.

New infections of the highly transmissible Omicron variant have been declining in Shanghai since April 23, with daily additions holding 3,000 in the last four days, the vast majority of them showing no symptoms. Symptomatic cases held below 300 a day for the fifth straight day.