Shanghai Tower, mainland China’s tallest building , has been cordoned off to screen for Covid-19 infections, as the city ramps up efforts to contain its latest coronavirus outbreak. The 632 metre skyscraper in the Lujiazui finance and trade zone, which is viewed as “China’s Wall Street”, was sealed off on Monday as Shanghai, a city of 25 million residents, has reported about 1,000 Covid-19 infections since the beginning of March. Local officials, however, said a citywide lockdown would not be implemented, as they believed the prevention methods currently in use would work effectively. “Guided by the principles of … scientific and comprehensive prevention, we keep adjusting our strategy in accordance with the situation on the ground. We have not locked down the city and there is no need for such measures,” Gu Honghui, a deputy secretary general of the Shanghai municipal government, said on Tuesday. Gu’s remarks seemed to be addressing speculation about the drastic measures to be taken by the city in its fight to contain an Omicron variant-fuelled Covid-19 outbreak. Between the first coronavirus outbreak in December 2019 and February this year, mainland China’s most developed metropolis had reported only 400 infections and seven deaths. There were fears the current outbreak would lead to a lockdown, severely disrupting the local economy. In the current outbreak, about 120 cases had mild symptoms while others were asymptomatic, local health authorities said. Shanghai Tower: global business hub or status symbol? “Shanghai is trying to strike a balance between preserving its economy and Covid-19 containment,” said Franco Feng, CEO of Shanghai-based travel services firm Shenxiaokou. “But this does not mean that it is being complacent.” Shanghai Tower will not grant access to the offices, shops and restaurants in the building in the coming days. J Hotel, the world’s tallest hotel, will also remain sealed off. Other skyscrapers in the area, such as Jin Mao Tower and Shanghai World Financial Center, remained operational on Tuesday. Those with bookings at hotels inside these buildings will be required to present negative nucleic acid tests taken within the previous 48 hours before check-in. On Tuesday, only a few shoppers could be seen in the afternoon, and some of the restaurants in these buildings had stopped allowing dine-in customers and were only offering takeaway services. Shanghai is an important gateway to the world’s second-largest economy. It has been the world’s largest container port since 2010 thanks to the rise of the Yangshan Deep Water Port. Yangshan was running as usual, operator Shanghai International Port Group said on Monday. Shanghai Disneyland, the world’s largest Disney amusement park, was operating in a reduced capacity, while its theatre shows had been suspended, according to its website. Tesla’s Gigafactory 3 in the Lingang free-trade zone was also operating as normal, a sales manager in Shanghai told the Post .