A medical worker collects a throat swab from a citizen at a nucleic acid testing site in Yangpu district in Shanghai, on June 23, 2020. [Photo/Xinhua]

Shanghai authorities have halved the cost of COVID-19 nucleic acid tests and included them in the city's medical insurance coverage, the city's epidemic-control office announced on the municipal government's official WeChat account on Tuesday.

Each nucleic acid test now costs 120 yuan ($17) per person, while each coronavirus antibody test costs 40 yuan.

Residents who take the tests at designated hospitals can also have the cost reimbursed by the city's medical insurance, the office added.