Visitors need to scan the health QR code and have disinfection whenever they enter a new place inside the Shanghai Disney Resort on June 16. Photo: Wu Shiliu

Shanghai on Wednesday reported two new local COVID-19 cases at the community level, with four high-risk and 22 medium-risk regions listed, as the city on Tuesday evening launched an urgent mass nucleic acid testing in several districts after some residents were found linked to a high-risk commercial complex.

One new infector had one dose of COVID-19 vaccine and the other one was fully vaccinated, the local health authorities said on Wednesday. A total of 4,224 related people have received nucleic acid tests, among them, 1,609 were negative, and the rest tests are still ongoing, according to the authorities.

Shanghai on Sunday and Monday consecutively detected new local cases who had a travel history in the commercial complex at 148 Lanxi Road in Putuo district, where a KTV and teahouse are located. The address had previously been listed as a high risk area.

There were 24 positive cases detected on Tuesday in Shanghai, who were all related to the high-risky area. It was found that there was a frequent movement of people at risk in the site, and their travel history had been involved with several places in the city, and there was a potential outbreak risk at the community level, according to the authorities. 

For both the firms suspected involved in the epidemic spreading, the authorities said on Friday that they have launched investigations toward the firms and will comprehensively strengthen supervision, inspection over business operations.

Since the city lifted lockdown in June, the entertainment industry has a strong desire to resume business amid growing market demand, however, such places are mostly enclosed places with various management levels, with epidemic prevention risks in resuming business, an official from the local culture and tourism bureau said at the press briefing. 

The KTVs will continue to be suspended and other businesses will be opened gradually in an orderly manner based on the epidemic situation, said the official. 

Shanghai has entered the stage of resuming normal life and work. China still faces major risks in epidemic prevention and control as the pandemic still rebounds. There can be no slackening and we should pay more focus on the newly emerged cases, Zhao Dandan, a deputy director of Shanghai Municipal Health Commission, said at Wednesday's briefing.

Zhao said the city needs to continue to improve the monitoring and early warning mechanism to detect, report and handle the hidden cases early.

Zhao said this round of the epidemic has also shown that some business venues do not follow the regulations of work resumption and the requirements of epidemic prevention, and do not strictly follow the rules that visitors should scan the QR code before entering buildings. Some residents' legal awareness is weak, according to Zhao.