(photo: Xinhua/Li Jiale)

Shanghai has blocked over two million fake and substandard-quality masks from entering the market amid the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, said local police.

The city has continued to bolster its efforts in protecting intellectual property (IP) during the pandemic. It has cracked down on 47 cases for producing and selling inferior masks and disinfectant and arrested more than 100 suspects for their alleged involvement, local police said at a press conference on Tuesday.

Besides, Shanghai has also filed several cases of IP infringements of virus prevention articles for investigation.

Among the cases that are being probed include a trading firm suspected of manufacturing fake 3M masks, and a manufacturer allegedly producing washing liquids under pirated trademarks, local IP authority said.

Shanghai also strengthened supervision on the pandemic-related trademark application.

IP administrators in Pudong New Area, for instance, have fined a local company 70,000 yuan ($9,877) for maliciously registering Huoshenshan - a makeshift hospital built in Central China's Hubei Province for COVID-19 patients - as a trademark, said Shanghai Intellectual Property Administration on Tuesday.