Shanghai island to host 3,250-bed COVID quarantine facility

FILE PHOTO: A medical worker in a protective suit collects a swab from a resident for nucleic acid testing, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Shanghai, China, on October 13, 2022. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo

SHANGHAI — Shanghai is planning to build a 3,250-bed COVID-19 quarantine facility on a small island close to its city center as China stands by its stringent zero-COVID controls, rather than relaxing curbs as many other countries have done.

The city awarded a 1.38 billion yuan ($191 million) contract to build the center on Fuxing Island, located in the Huangpu River, to state-owned builder China Communications Construction Corp, according to a government document.

The document said the site, which will take in positive cases and their close contacts, would be 140,000 square meters large and have 3,009 rooms. It did not give a timeline for the project’s completion.

The Shanghai government did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.

China has vowed to stick to its zero-COVID policy despite growing public pushback and its toll on the economy, especially in cities like Shanghai which endured a painful two month-long city-wide lockdown that was lifted on June 1.

READ: China imposes COVID-19 lockdown for millions around Beijing

Shanghai, like other Chinese cities, has continued to battle sporadic outbreaks with repeated mass testing and targeted lockdowns.

Other localities have built similar quarantine sites. The southern metropolis of Guangzhou has a 5,000-bed quarantine centre that is mainly meant for travelers entering China from abroad.

($1 = 7.2236 Chinese yuan renminbi)