Shanghai strengthens assistance for elderly, low-income homes amid COVID-19 resurgence

SHANGHAI, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Shanghai has strengthened efforts to provide assistance to its low-income population and elderly people living alone during the city's COVID-19 resurgence, local authorities said at a press conference on Friday.

Community volunteers and residential committee staff across the city have been mobilized to provide a series of services, such as meal delivery and regular phone call checkups, for elderly people who are empty-nesters or temporarily unattended as their family members are in hospital or under quarantine, said Jiang Rui, head of the Shanghai municipal bureau of civil affairs.

For low-income families, the bureau has called for the timely and full payment of minimum living allowances and the provision of food, daily necessities and COVID-19 prevention materials, Jiang said. People in temporary difficulty due to the epidemic will be provided with relief.

Shanghai reported 3,200 confirmed locally transmitted COVID-19 cases and 19,872 local asymptomatic cases on Thursday, the municipal health commission said on Friday.