Shanghai debuts public transport, travel hub safety plan

Shanghai has introduced a comprehensive and intensive prevention scheme on all public transportation and travel hubs to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus pneumonia as people are returning to the city for the resumption of work on Monday.

Temperature checks, health registration and wearing face masks are mandatory for every arriving passenger either through highways, railways, airports or docks. Disinfection has also been enhanced at railway stations, airports and in buses, metro trains and taxis, the municipal government said Sunday during its daily press conference on the NCP epidemic.

Since Feb 3, infrared temperature checks have been conducted on every passenger entering the city's metro stations. A person with a temperature higher than 37.3 C is subject to medical observation and possible quarantine.

The metro administration also reminds the public that it is mandatory for people to wear face masks on the train. Anyone who doesn't wear a mask will be barred from entering train carriages.

There has been an increase of passengers arriving in Shanghai over the past week.

On Sunday, the city's three railway stations received about 120,000 arrivals, according to rail authorities. The arrival figure was 103,000 on Saturday, 102,000 on Friday, and 89,000 on Thursday.

The city's two airports received 116,000 passengers from Thursday to Saturday. On Sunday, Pudong received 48,000 and Hongqiao 27,000.

Passenger flow on the city's metro trains also has increased from a bare minimum during the Spring Festival to about 819,000 passengers on Saturday.