Shanghai Sees Rising Number Of New Covid Infections

The number of new Covid infections found in Shanghai has continued to rise with authorities reporting 21,222 cases on Friday, up from 19,982 the day before.

Of the latest patients, 824 people were showing symptoms of the virus.

Wu Qianyu, an inspector from the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission, said the Covid situation remains severe in the city.

“Recently, the number of positive cases detected in screening tests in the districts has stayed at a high level, meaning there’s still transmission in the community and there are clusters of infections,” she said at a press briefing.

“We hope the public will continue to cooperate as we conduct the antigen or nucleic acid tests in the whole city today.”

Officials said a makeshift hospital with 50,000 beds -- the largest in Shanghai -- will be partially completed on Saturday, adding that 20,000 more beds will be made available in smaller facilities.

The National Health Commission on Friday reported a total of 22,561 new asymptomatic cases across the country, 850 more than the previous day, while the number of symptomatic cases increased to 1,540.