People line up for nucleic acid tests at a hospital in Shanghai, March 26, 2022. (Photo: CFP)

Airport, railway, international passenger and cargo services are operating normally while Shanghai is rolling out citywide testing in two rounds amid a spike in COVID-19 cases, Wu Jinglei, director of the local health commission, said Monday.

The new round of mass virus tests started at 5 am Monday, mainly in two batches with the Huangpu River as the boundary. Every resident will receive two nucleic acid tests with a 24 hour interval, according to officials.

The first batch will cover the area on the east side of the river. Testing will be conducted from Monday morning at 5 am until Friday morning at 5 am.

The second batch of testing, for people in Puxi, the west side of the river, will be carried out from Friday morning at 3 am to the following Tuesday morning.

Public transportation including flights, trains, international passengers and cargo services will remain in normal operation during this citywide nucleic acid screening. A nucleic acid test within the last 48 hours is mandatory for leaving the city.

(Compiled by Wang Zi)